Athens Classic Marathon

The provenance of the competitive race is traced back to the Marathon race at the 1896 Olympics.^[8]

A separate race from the town of Marathon to Athens was regularly held in April from 1955 to at least 1989. This unrelated race, known as the Athens Marathon, frequently served as the Greek championship race but it is now discontinued.^[9]

The Athens Classic Marathon began in 1972 as a joint venture between the Greek tourist board and athletics association.^[10]

In 1982, the organisers dedicated the race to Grigoris Lambrakis, an athlete and Member of the Greek Parliament, whose murder in the 1960s has become an inspirational cause for advocates of human rights.^[3]

The race came under the auspices of the current organisers and SEGAS in 1983 and has since become a major race, being awarded Gold Label Road Race status by the IAAF.^[11][12] The 1983 event was known as the Athens Peace Marathon and both a popular and elite level race featured for the first time that year.^[9]

Since 1990, the Athens Classic Marathon has often served as the Greek national championships for the marathon event.^[11][13]

Since 2007 the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races has organised an annual International Marathon Symposium in Marathon town the day prior to the race.^[5]

The 2010 edition of the event was combined with the celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon.^[7] As the 2500 anniversary was actually in 2011, this year was also celebrated as the anniversary run.

In 2016, a refugee team competed in the concurrent 5 kilometre road race.^[14]

The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all registrants given the option of transferring their entry to 2021 or obtaining a full refund.^[15][16]

The marathon course is based on the legend from which the race gained its name: Pheidippides, a messenger in Ancient Greece, who allegedly ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks' victory over the Persians.^[3]

It is perhaps the most difficult major marathon race: the course is uphill from the 10 km mark to the 31 km mark – the toughest uphill climb of any major marathon.^[17] The course begins in the town of Marathon, where it passes the tomb of the Athenian soldiers, and it traces a path near the coast through Nea Makri. Following the steep rise, the course goes lightly downhill towards the city of Athens.^[18] It passes a statue of a runner (Ο Δρομέας) in the city centre before finishing up at the Panathinaiko Stadium;^[19] a site for athletics competitions in ancient times and the finishing point for both the 1896 and 2004 Olympic marathons.^[18]

Key:   Course record   Greek championship race

More information Year, Men's winner ...

Year	Men's winner	Time (h:m:s)	Women's winner	Time (h:m:s)
2025	Panagiotis Karaiskos (GRE)[20]	2:20:10	Stamatia Noula (GRE)[21]	2:39:28
2024	Charalampos Pitsolis (GRE)	2:18:56	Stamatia Noula (GRE)	2:40:20
2023	Edwin Kiptoo (KEN)	2:10:34	Soukaina Atanane (MAR)	2:31:52
2022	Charalampos Pitsolis (GRE)	2:23:44	Vasiliki Konstantinopoulou (GRE)	2:46:01
2021	Konstantinos Gkelaouzos (GRE)	2:16:49	Gloria Privileggio (GRE)	2:41:30
2020	cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic[15]
2019	John Komen (KEN)	2:16:34	Eleftheria Petroulaki (GRE)	2:45:50
2018	Brimin Kipkorir (KEN)	2:10:56	Shelmith Nyawira (KEN)	2:36:46
2017	Samuel Kalalei (KEN)	2:12:17	Bedatu Hirpa (ETH)	2:34:18
2016	Luka Rotich (KEN)	2:12:49	Nancy Arusei (KEN)	2:38:13
2015	Christoforos Merousis (GRE)	2:21:22	Minori Hayakari (JPN)	2:52:06
2014	Felix Kandie (KEN)	2:10:37	Naomi Maiyo (KEN)	2:41:06
2013	Hillary Yego (KEN)	2:13:51	Nancy Rotich (KEN)	2:41:32
2012	Raymond Bett (KEN)	2:11:35	Consalater Yadaa (KEN)	2:40:00
2011	Abdelkrim Boubker (MAR)	2:11:40	Elfeneshe Melkamu (ETH)	2:35:25
2010	Raymond Bett (KEN)	2:12:40	Rasa Drazdauskaitė (LTU)	2:31:06
2009	Josephat Ngetich (KEN)	2:13:44	Akemi Ozaki (JPN)	2:39:56
2008	Paul Lekuraa (KEN)	2:12:42	Mai Tagami (JPN)	2:36:58
2007	Benjamin Korir (KEN)	2:14:40	Svetlana Ponomarenko (RUS)	2:33:19
2006	Henry Tarus (KEN)	2:17:46	Chikako Ogushi (JPN)	2:40:45
2005	James Saina (KEN)	2:16:15	Sisay Measo (ETH)	2:38:39
2004	Frederick Cherono (KEN)	2:15:28	Alemu Zinash (ETH)	2:41:11
2003	Zebedayo Bayo (TAN)	2:16:59	Nadezhda Wijenberg (NED)	2:43:18
2002	Mark Saina (KEN)	2:18:20	Sonja Oberem (GER)	2:37:29
2001	Noah Bor (KEN)	2:19:26	Sonja Oberem (GER)	2:36:15
2000	Nikólaos Poliás (GRE)	2:20:50	Yeoryía Abatzídou (GRE)	2:53:00
1999	Masato Yonehara (JPN)	2:18:35	Tamaki Okuno (JPN)	2:46:46
1998	Nikólaos Poliás (GRE)	2:18:38	Joy Smith (USA)	2:50:52
1997	Gerasimos Kokotos (GRE)	2:31:47	Melissa Hurta (USA)	2:54:43
1996	Nikitas Markakis (GRE)	2:33:15	Panagiota Petropoulou (GRE)	2:56:42
1995	Nikólaos Poliás (GRE)	2:27:27	Panagiota Nikolakopoulou (GRE)	2:59:45
1994	Christos Dumas (GRE)	2:27:27	Kleri Stavropoulou (GRE)	3:21:32
1993	Nikólaos Poliás (GRE)	2:28:12	Panagiota Petropoulou (GRE)	3:15:56
1992	Christos Dumas (GRE)	2:31:15	Reiko Hirosawa (JPN)	3:05:24
1991	Theodoros Fotopoulos (GRE)	2:28:18	Sofia Sotiriadou (GRE)	2:59:29
1990	Johan Engholm (SWE)	2:26:33	Prudence Taylor (NZL)	2:59:15
1989	Jan van Rijthoven (NED)	2:23:19	Leslie Lewis (USA)	2:37:42
1988	Fedor Ryzhov (URS)	2:17:33	Magdalini Poulimenou (GRE)	2:50:59
1987	Kevin Flanegan (RSA)	2:25:14	Irina Bogacheva (URS)	2:43:37
1986	Jos vander Water (BEL)	2:27:22	Signe Ward (NOR)	3:06:58
1985	Michael Hill (SWE)	2:26:20	Eryl Davies (GBR)	3:04:30
1984	Leon Swanepoel (RSA)	2:28:53	Barbara Balzer (USA)	2:58:30
1983	Martin J. McCarthy (GBR)	2:25:34	Hanne Jensen (DEN)	3:20:33
1982	Rick Callison (USA)	2:27:29	Ella Grimm (DEN)	3:07:41
1981	Yiannis Kouros (GRE)	2:32:50	Britta Sorensen (DEN)	3:16:00
1980	Jean-Paul Didim (FRA)	2:34:32	Arlene Volmer (USA)	3:17:07
1979	Richard Belk (GBR)	2:31:21	Gaby Birrer (SUI)	3:34:21
1978	Danny Flynn (AUS)	2:27:22	Alexandra Fili (GRE)	4:47:00
1977	Kebede Balcha (ETH)	2:14:40.8	Christina Johansson (SWE)	3:05:53
1976	Edgar Friedli (SUI)	2:33:50	Melissa Hendriksen (USA)	3:35:45
1975	Teofanis Tsimingatos (GRE)	2:35:39	Corrie Konings (NED)	3:16:13
1974	Ian Thompson (GBR)	2:13.50	Eva-Maria Westphal (FRG)	3:55:56
1973	Jouko Kuha (FIN)	2:32:26	No women's race
1972	Yiannis Virvilis (GRE)	2:26:26	No women's race

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