They couldn’t catch Galambos again.

At the tenth edition of the marathon in 1933, evidently by coincidence, 33 runners took part. Runners from Germany who participated every year were absent, as the social climate after Hitler’s rise to power had changed and the country was going through a rather tumultuous time.

The starting judge counted 33 runners before firing his shot, but the finish line judge counted two fewer.

At that time, Ľudovít Majoroš, just 22-year-old, finished in the next to last place. He later often returned to the race, with breaks, most recently 57 years after his first start. And amazingly, over that long time, he didn’t actually lose much of his performance level. At the end of his marathon journey, he ran a time that was only 30 minutes slower than those of his youth.

But back to the favourites. Perhaps the best chances were given to Josef Šulc, due mainly to his second place in the Vienna marathon, which had been run just over a month before the one in Košice. Once they started, the runners gave away nothing on the track, and ultimately lined up at the finish line exactly as they were listed in the world ranking from 1932.

The favoured Šulc took third place, when after an evenly paced race, the veteran József Galambos held onto a sufficient lead at the finish. He thus secured a fourth victory in the race, which even to the present no one else has managed to achieve in Košice.

Results

Slovak International Marathon, October 28, 1933 / men

1. József GALAMBOS 2. Artürs MOTMILLERS 3. Josef ŠULC

HUN LAT TCH/CZE

2:37:53.2 2:41:38.2 2:42:43.0

Start in Kosice in 1924 – The only witnesses to the past were Turňa Castle, which had been eaten away by the ravages of time, and a large, lonely tree that stood below the castle. – Photo: Kosice Peace Marathon

The famous statue of the runner by the sculptor Arpad Racko in the middle of Kosice with all the winners on the pedestal – Photo: Horst Milde 

100. Kosice Peace Marathon on 1. October 2023

HE NUMBERS ARE GROWING FAST

The numbers of registered runners for Košice Peace Marathon 2023 so far exceed all expectations.
/ Photo: © 2022 Košice Marathon Club – Ľubomíra Ištoňová.

The oldest marathon in Europe is enjoying great interest in its upcoming 100th year.

In the first 50 days from the opening of registration, more than 6,000 runners have already signed up, which is about 50% of the entire planned capacity. There are still more than 8 months left before the start, so it will be interesting to see how the numbers continue to develop.

Naturally, domestic runners play first fiddle, while on the other rungs, under the flags of dozens of countries, are mainly runners from Poland, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, the UK and Germany.

In the meantime, the organisers have confirmed that all the main disciplines of the programme, i.e. the Marathon, Half Marathon and Relay, will take place together on Sunday, 1 October.

One day earlier, on Saturday, 30 September, the programme will be dominated by the U.S. Steel Family Run.

REGISTER NOW

Source: Kosice Peace Marathon –  Branislaw Koniar (Race Director Kosice Peace Marathon)