7,500 participants in the 45th edition of the Zurich Maratón Donostia-San Sebastián

● The 45th edition of the San Sebastián Marathon, which will take place on Sunday 26th of November, has sold out all the registrations three weeks before the race, with a significant increase in the number of participants in the three distances.
● More than 7,300 runners of 60 different nationalities will be on the starting line of a race with 27% of female participation and 44% of international participants. 
● On Saturday 25th of November, the Gosaria Run will take place with 250 registered runners, and the Expo Sports (Runner’s Fair) will open its doors at the Kursaal Conference Centre.

The Zurich Maratón Donostia-San Sebastiánwill reach its 45th edition in 2023. The second-oldest marathon in Spain, presented this morning at the Donostia City Hall, was attended by Joan Giralt (Zurich’s representative), Ramón Goikoetxea (President of the Gipuzkoa Athletics Federation), Azahara Dominguez (Regional Councillor for Mobility, Tourism and Territorial Planning), Goizane Álvarez (Regional Councillor for Culture and Sports), Iñaki Gabarain (Sports Councillor of the San Sebastián City Council) and Eneko Goia (Donostiako Alkatea). The race will have 7,500 participants, having sold out the bibs for its three distances three weeks before the race and with a record number of participants in the main distance: 3,500 in the 42K, 2,000 in the half marathon and 2,000 for the 10K.

Besides, Donostia’s Marathon will be the first one in the Zurich Las 5 Grandes circuit, an initiative that groups together the main marathons in the country: Zurich Marató Barcelona, Zurich Rock’n’Roll Running Series Madrid, Zurich Maratón San Sebastián, Zurich Maratón Sevilla and Maratón Valencia Trinidad Alfonso.

This marathon will have 28% female participation (2,026 women) and 44% of international participants (3,239), representing 60 different nationalities. Likewise, this 45th edition will count on two athletes for what will be their 100th marathon: Romain Purro, a Swiss athlete who has been living in San Sebastián for 10 years and who has already run the 42 kilometres in San Sebastián 13 times; and Jose María García Cosgaya, an athlete from Vitoria who ran his first marathon in San Sebastián in 2008.

“This year we are celebrating the 45th edition of the Zurich Maratón Donostia-San Sebastián and we are doing it in great shape, with admirable participation figures and being a protagonist of Las 5 Grandes circuit together with the most important marathons in Spain. In the three years that we have been managing this race we have almost doubled the participation, which is great news for the Gipuzkoa Athletics Federation and for the city of San Sebastián itself”, explains Íñigo Olaizola, general coordinator of the race.

An ever faster marathon
The course of the Zurich Maratón Donostia-San Sebastián, which was launched in 2022, has been a great improvement and has been very popular with participants looking to improve their personal best. Proof of this is the fact that the 40% of the marathon participants have chosen a pace of less than 3 hours.

The 3 races start from Calle Hernani, located in the heart of the city center, and finish on the mythical Boulevard, a place that has hosted historic stage finishes of the Tour de France, the Clásica San Sebastián, or the popular Behobia-San Sebastián. The race crosses the city centre, Antiguo, Amara, Riberas de Loiola and Gros, passing through emblematic places of the city such as the Paseo de la Concha, the Vitoria Eugenia Theatre, the Buen Pastor Cathedral, the Kursaal and the Plaza Gipuzkoa. To finish, a magnificent straight of more than 1 kilometre completely flat to the finish line is enjoyed, surrounded by the warmth of the Gipuzkoan public.

After breaking the record of the race in the women’s category in 2022, the organisation’s objective this year is to do the same in the men’s category. Last year it was the Kenyan athlete Rebecca Sirwanei Taniu, who, with a time of 2:23:94h, pulverised the record of the Spanish athlete Ana Isabel Alonso, which had been in force for 27 years. The elite line-up for this 45th edition is made up of international athletes with fast times: Kenyan Benson Tunyo Murkomen starts as the favourite, with a time of 2h11′, followed by his compatriots Moses Kimulwo Tuyange (2h12′), Geoffrey Yego and Kelvin Kimutai Maru, who are making their debut in the distance, together with Slovenian Matic Modic (2h25′). In the women’s category, two Kenyan runners, Leah Jerotich (2h32′) and Emmah Cheruto Nwida (2h35′) are the favourites to reach the podium.

On the same Sunday, the Gipuzkoa and Euskadi Marathon Championships will also be held, in which more than thirty participants have registered, including Francisco Javier Menta Martínez, Mikel Mujika and Juan Luis Manso in the men’s category, and Ana Cruz Oyarzabal, Alazne Mujika, Nerea Egía and Miren Josune Bikuña in the women’s category.

Runner’s Fair, refreshment points and more services
The Kursaal Conference Centre will once again be the nerve centre of the race on the day before the Zurich Maratón Donostia-San Sebastián. The Runner’s Fair (Expo Sports) will have numerous stands dedicated to the world of sport. On this occasion, the following brands will be present: Zurich Seguros, Finisher, Corny, Yamaha, Zurich Marató Barcelona and eDreams Mitja Marató Barcelona by Brooks, Pimiento Negro and Maratón de Sevilla. Participants will be able to pick up their race bibs and commemorative T-shirts at the same venue throughout Saturday, 25th November between 10am and 8pm, without interruption.

The Zurich Maratón Donostia-San Sebastián will have a total of 9 refreshment points with water, fruit, Finisher gels and Powerade, and another complete refreshment point at the finish line where there will also be broth, pizzas and more. There will also be a cloakroom service, free shuttle buses from different parts of the city to the start, showers, medal recording, recovery area with masseurs, online diploma, etc… Each participant will receive a T-shirt as a gift, and those who finish the Marathon and Half Marathon will also receive a commemorative medal.

To minimise the impact of this great event on the environment, the organisers have made a major effort to reduce waste generation as much as possible. Electric cars and motorbikes will be used, T-shirts will come without plastic bags and will be made from recycled fabrics, and more than half of the refreshment posts will use water from the public water supply.

More than 500 volunteers
More than 500 volunteers will take part in the race and will carry out different tasks such as giving out bib numbers, cutting off traffic, providing refreshments, providing entertainment and handing out medals to all the participants who finish the race. Most of these volunteers belong to the different athletics clubs in Gipuzkoa, and they are essential to be able to hold an event of this magnitude.

Follow the race: APP, YouTube and ETB4 Live
The race’s APP will be very useful to be informed about the most relevant aspects of the race. On Sunday itself, it will be possible to follow the participants live by entering the bib number of each runner. Available for IOS and Android.

Euskal Telebista will broadcast the race live from 9am on ETB4 and on eitb.eus. El Diario Vasco will also broadcast the race live on its website. The race can also be seen on the official YouTube channel of the Zurich Maratón Donostia-San Sebastián, as well as through the APP. On Sunday between 16h and 16:50h, a comprehensive summary of the day will be broadcasted on ETB1.

Zurich Seguros, main sponsor one more year
Zurich Seguros continues for the ninth consecutive year as main sponsor reinforcing its commitment to sport, this year also starting the Zurich Maratón Donostia-San Sebastián 2023 in the circuit Las 5 Grandes.

In addition, Zurich Seguros will be very present at the Gosaria Run, the previous training session that will take place on Saturday 25th November at 9:30 am. Its ambassador of the Zurich ‘De Pies A Cabeza’ Community of runners, Abel Antón, will be animating the training and will share his advice with the participants. A 7km circuit through the impressive Concha Bay, up to the Peine del Viento to finish at the same starting point.

On the other hand, the Z Zurich Foundation will donate 1 euro for each finisher of the Zurich Maratón Donostia-San Sebastián 2023 in each of its distances, the final amount of which will be donated to the Spanish Federation of Food Banks. Similarly, the Zurich Aefat Team will hold its 25th marathon in San Sebastián, fighting for ataxia telangiectasia. This team, created in 2017, is made up of children and young people with this degenerative disease, still without a cure or treatment, and volunteer runners who push their special chairs, all of them from different parts of Spain.

The Zurich Aefat Team will be presented this Saturday 25 November at 11am at the Zurich stand at Expo Sports. These young people, from different communities, aged between 15 and just over 30, will be representing the more than 40 people affected by ataxia telangiectasia who are part of Aefat, the association that brings together families in Spain: Jon, from Vitoria-Gasteiz; the twins Bárbara and Adrián (Burgos), the brothers Álvaro and Luis-Illán (Terrassa, Barcelona), Sara (Madrid) and Lola (Barcelona). Other families travelling to cheer on the team will also be present.

Their special chairs will be pushed by 23 great solidarity runners from Álava, Vizcaya, Navarra, Huesca, Barcelona, Madrid and the United Kingdom, among them Kepa, father of one of the children affected in Álava. The team’s flag bearer will be Abel Fernández Mendivil, known as SpiderAbel, a runner from Amurrio (Álava) who has been running almost 100 marathons in his Spider-Man suit and has been loyal to the association for several years. The team will also have an “honorary” solidarity runner, Gary Shaughnessy, CEO of the Z Zurich Foundation, a great sportsman and an example of overcoming challenges, who has been collaborating with Aefat for years and has already participated in last year’s edition of the San Sebastián’s Marathon.