Today is the 20th anniversary of the first Ljubljana Marathon, which has since become Slovenia's leading recreational event. On a sunny Sunday on October 27, 1996, 673 runners participated in a run through Ljubljana' streets; the run was divided into three different lengths (42 kilometers, 21 kilometers, and seven kilometers). The 42-kilometer race was won by two well-known Slovenian marathon runners, Roman Kejžar (2:20:12) and Helena Javornik (2:37:58).
Gojko Zalokar says that the most difficult challenge ahead of the first marathon was convincing the city council to include the marathon in the annual plan of the city of Ljubljana. This meant that the event would get financial help without which it couldn't have been carried out. Fortunately, Andrej Razdrih and Branko Gradišnik had just been elected to the city council. They helped to ensure that Ljubljana joined many other world capitals and got its own marathon.

More than 20,000 runners by 2014
There was plenty of interest in the event even at the beginning, which meant that the run has not just lasted for two decades (it is traditionally scheduled on the last Sunday in October), but has also grown increasingly popular. By 2014, the number of participants in the two-day event had surpassed the 20,000 mark, and course records were also being set. Last year, Limenih Getachew of Ethiopia ran the circular course with a time of 2:08:19. Of course, the loudest applause is reserved for those who complete the full marathon. This year, 2074 male runners sand 535 female runners have signed up for the 42.195-kilometer run.
Last year will be hard to beat
Gojko Zalokar told us that everything is ready for this year’s Ljubljana Marathon and that it could already have taken place two weeks ago. Could this year’s run be organized even better than last year’s event, when everything appeared to be seamless? "That’s going to be difficult because we set a high standard. Still, we add something new every year. This time around, it’s our running school, in which almost 500 runners have taken part. We’ll continue to develop that, perhaps as the Ljubljana Marathon Association."
This year (on Sunday, October 30, at 10:30 a.m.), the start of the Ljubljana Marathon will take place in front of the Drama building, and the runners will first head down Slovenska Cesta towards Črnuče. Monetary prizes will also be handed out to those running the half marathon. As usual, Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković plans to greet runners at the finish line. Last year, he offered 250,000 euros to anyone beating the world record.
It’s understandable for the mayor to hope for a world record, but it’s difficult to imagine any of the invited African runners beating the 2014 record set by the Kenyan Denis Kimetto in Berlin (2:02:57). "I'm being realistic. It’s true that the mayor is offering a tempting reward for a world record, and I believe the money is worth it, but Ljubljana has an altitude difference of 40 meters, which isn't ideal for a world record," added Zalokar.