Have you already made plans for the first weekend of September? We don’t know about you, but thousands of runners have been planning them for a long time, and some started as early as six months ago – that’s exactly how long it takes to prepare for the 42.2 km race, the main distance of the Nizhny Novgorod marathon. On September 8, approximately 9,500 people will gather in the Sunset Capital to welcome this autumn with a race.
What we will tell you
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History of the marathon
The Nizhny Novgorod Marathon is one of the flagship projects of the League of Heroes sports event organizing company. This year, the marathon is celebrating its fourth anniversary: it was first held in 2021 to celebrate the city’s 800th anniversary. Then, in honor of the anniversary, an event called “Marathon-800” was held.
Deputy Director of the Nizhny Novgorod Marathon
“As part of the Russian half marathon with synchronized start “ZaBeg.RF”, which is held in all regions of Russia (another project of the “League of Heroes” – editor’s note), we organized a competition for the title of the Running Capital of the country. One of the first winners was Nizhny Novgorod. In the fall of 2020, the head of the League of Heroes, Ksenia Shoigu, presented the Running Capital Cup to the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin, and at their meeting the idea of holding a marathon in the city arose. In the summer of 2021, Nizhny Novgorod celebrated its 800th anniversary, and the city wanted to diversify the program of celebrations.”
The League of Heroes event was not new for Nizhny Novgorod: this city hosted marathons for 24 years in a row, from 1985 to 2009. After a 12-year break, the good tradition of marathons was revived. The Nizhny Novgorod region is one of the leaders in the development of sport in the country. This makes it a unique place, ideal for holding a marathon.
Photo: vk.com/marathon_52
Marathon calendar
The Nizhny Novgorod Marathon will take place on Sunday, September 8. More information about the duration of the event:
6:30 – opening of the start-finish town; 7:30 – official opening; 8:00 – start of 5 km; 8:50 – awarding of winners of 5 km; – start of 10 km; 10:25 – start of 1 km; 12:00 – awarding of winners in 10 km; 12:15 – awarding of winners in 1 km; – end of the event.
Photo: vk.com/marathon_52
Where is the route?
Participants are offered several distances to choose from: 1, 5, 10 and 42.2 km. Athletes will enjoy a real city tour: all distances start from the Nizhny Novgorod stadium and the finish line of all routes will also be located here.
The routes run along the picturesque embankments of the city. During the walking tour, participants will be able to get acquainted with the key sights of Nizhny Novgorod: the Kremlin, the famous Chkalov Stairs, and see the place where the Oka flows into the Volga, and will also cross the Oka on the picturesque metro bridge.
Photo: vk.com/marathon_52
Who will help on the route?
Around 800 volunteers will be working alongside the organisers to create a festive atmosphere for the event’s participants and fans.
Anastasia Zolina
Deputy Director of the League of Heroes Volunteer Center
“No event is held without volunteers, whether sporting or social. They are the first people that participants meet. They help with navigation, work in the storage room and offer activities in the fan zone. At the start, volunteers divide participants into groups and on the course itself they support the runners, handing out water and fruit at the food stalls. They are also the ones who hand out medals at the finish line.”
The event is attended by volunteers from Moscow and other regions; at such a large-scale event, the kids exchange experiences, make new friends and expand the geography of their work. However, the backbone of the volunteers at the marathon are the residents of Nizhny Novgorod.
Marina Maslova
Project Manager “Volunteers 800”
“Our team came together in 2021, when Nizhny Novgorod celebrated its 800th anniversary. It now numbers about 500 people, 100 of whom have been working from the very beginning. Now the team includes people aged 16 to 74: there are high school students, students, workers, active retirees. We also have family volunteering, when parents work at events with their children. Everyone has their own motivation: someone comes to participate in large events that they cannot attend as a spectator or participant, someone wants to see from the inside how the organization of events works. Schoolchildren decide on their profession and go to study at specialized universities. Workers perceive volunteering as a mental break: they come in the evenings and on weekends to disconnect from work and have fun. For retirees, this is an additional social activity.”
Photo: vk.com/marathon_52
Who can participate?
Anyone over 16 years old can take part in the race at any distance; there will be a separate 1 km race for children, but the most popular distance will traditionally be the 10 km. The Nizhny Novgorod marathon is a classic city race, so it is suitable for athletes of any training level.
Andrey Pigasin
participant of the Nizhny Novgorod marathon
“I will run a 5 km marathon. This will be my first race; I have been running since last year. My coach told me about the marathon and suggested that I run the minimum distance, so I decided to give it a try. Now I am actively preparing: I study in person with a coach once a week and several more times in absentia during assignments. I am not worried, I do not aim to set records or run a distance in a certain time. I want to run my 5 km, improve myself and start my career as a runner.”
Nizhny Novgorod is famous for its elite athletes: since the beginning of the event, the marathon has become a platform for the best athletes to compete for prizes. Every year the organizers allocate a prize fund, this time of 2,400,000 rubles, which pushes athletes to always show the best results. Thus, last year, the famous athlete Rinas Akhmadeev set his personal record at the 10 km distance (28.43) in Nizhny Novgorod and became the winner of the race in this category.
Photo: vk.com/marathon_52
In different years, the Nizhny Novgorod marathon was attended by such eminent athletes as the winner of the Moscow half marathon – 2024 Rinas Akhmadeev, the owner of the best result in Russia in 10 km in 2023 Dmitry Nedelin, multiple champion of Russia Konstantin Plokhotnikov, multiple winner and prize-winner of championships and championships of Russia Andrey Strizhako.
Among women, multiple Russian track and field champions who met the Olympic standard, Ekaterina Ivonina and Olga Vovk, Russia’s best 10km result of 2023, Anna Vikulova, and BRICS Games silver medallist Anna Tropina, all added marathon medals to their tally.
Ivan Biryusov
Nizhny Novgorod Marathon Silver Medalist – 2023
Nizhny Novgorod is one of the most important races on my calendar. I will run the main distance – 42.2 km. In Nizhny Novgorod I took part in marathons even before the 12-year break and I am taking part in the Nizhny Novgorod marathon for the third time. Each time I ran the maximum distance: the first time I took fourth place, and last year I took silver. Now I also hope to be among the winners – I would like to take first place immediately, but I understand that the fight for gold will be tough. I myself live in Nizhny Novgorod and for me this is a home start – my family, relatives, friends and acquaintances live in this city. I want to perform for them, I will defend the honour of Nizhny Novgorod sport. This start is also unique because nowhere else is there such a long and beautiful climb as at our Zelensky Congress – we run uphill for a whole kilometre, the climb and the incline are solid. This is just a feature of our marathon – I am very happy to be part of the team. “No other race has anything like it. Plus, the route is practically a walking excursion.”
Photo: vk.com/marathon_52
What else is important to know?
There is great news for spectators: the race will be broadcast live on the VKontakte social network. In addition to the race itself, the organisers have prepared a rich cultural programme for participants and guests of the event: for example, on the eve of the race there will be a traditional amateur race with the “5 miles” movement, where top athletes will take part along with everyone else. The amateur race will take place on 7 September at 9:00 am in the Swiss Park.
You can meet the best athletes at the Pasta Festival, the Carbohydrate Festival, which will take place within the framework of the EXPO at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium from 17:00 to 20:00.
Photo: vk.com/marathon_52
There is very little time left before the Nizhny Novgorod marathon, so if you want to take part in a large-scale sports festival, hurry up – there are very few places left. You can register for the Nizhny Novgorod marathon on the website until September 6 inclusive.
Useful exercises for runners: follow the link:
5 exercises that will be useful for every runner
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