{"id":17924,"date":"2026-04-23T13:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T11:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.zurichmaratonsansebastian.com\/?page_id=17924"},"modified":"2026-05-13T18:08:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T16:08:00","slug":"course-3","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/zurichmaratonsansebastian.com\/en\/i-am-a-runner\/course-3\/","title":{"rendered":"History of the Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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History of the Marathon<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn about the history of the San Sebasti\u00e1n Marathon\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhen we talk about the San Sebasti\u00e1n Marathon, we're talking about a race with more than 40 years of history\u2014the second-oldest in Spain.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe history of the San Sebasti\u00e1n Marathon began on October 15, 1978. As such, after Madrid (May 21), it is the second oldest marathon held in Spain. To look back on its history, a few years ago El Diario Vasco brought together two people who were closely involved in the early days of our marathon: Patxi Ripalda and Juanjo Ozkariz, who are now honorary judges for the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation. At that time, they held specific roles within the organizational structure responsible for the race\u2019s logistics. \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPatxi Ripalda, a native of San Sebasti\u00e1n, served as president of the FAG for 12 years (from 1988 to 1996 and from 2000 to 2004), as president of the FAG Judges\u2019 Association, as a judge at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and as a national judge, participating in the event\u2019s earliest editions. \u201cI was a sprinter. Given the excitement surrounding the organization of this marathon, I decided to train for it. I have to say my muscles really suffered. I cherish the medal and the certificate, which is signed by the late Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Imaz from Tolosa, who was president at the time. The driving force behind it all was the late Rafa Puignau. Rafa was a huge track and field fan. He had competed in European Championships and was thrilled by those experiences. He suggested the possibility of organizing a marathon in the city. So, a group of total amateurs got to work. I can say that the marathon was practically a DIY effort. Gaspar Esnaola, a two-time winner in 1981 (2:24) and 1983 (2:18), was also a huge help.\u201d \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJuanjo Ozkariz, also from San Sebasti\u00e1n, echoes the words of his friend Patxi. \u201cThe founder and driving force behind it all was our dear, late friend Rafa Puignau. He was deeply passionate about the sport and always kept up to date with everything happening in the world of athletics.\u201d \n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tManual measurement, chips...\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat began as a small-scale operation gradually evolved with the introduction of better technology, which greatly simplified the race\u2019s logistics. \u201cIt was crazy. The course for the first edition consisted of one four-kilometer lap and two 19-kilometer laps. For certification, we used a wheel, and it turned out to be a disaster because the asphalt was very bumpy. In subsequent editions, we used a measuring tape. That system was very labor-intensive and took us several Sundays to complete. A group of us judges would go out; one would mark the first point, and every 25 meters the next, until we reached 100, and so on until we completed the 42.195 kilometers. The route passed through the Paseo Nuevo. Later, it was decided to eliminate this section due to the strong waves. About 2,500 athletes participated, many of them very young\u2014something that would be forbidden and unthinkable today. It was striking to see how all the men finished with bleeding nipples. The sports gear\u2014shoes, tights...\u2014wasn\u2019t like it is today. Timing was done manually, and the race number was printed and pinned to the shirt with safety pins. Then came the chip attached to the shoe, and today they use one that\u2019s built right into the race number itself.\u201d \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIn the 1970s, it was unusual to see women running, let alone participating in marathons. Lourdes Gabarain, from Tolosa, was a pioneer as the first woman in the country to finish an official marathon. In 1977, at a time when marathons were not yet held in Spain (except for the annual national race for federated athletes, in which women did not participate), Lourdes, who was not yet of legal age, made her debut in the French city of Bordeaux, where she clocked a time of 4:51:32. Rosi Talavera, from Hernani, won the first edition in 1978 at the age of 17 with a time of 3h 27', breaking the Spanish record at the time. \u201cIn the early years, the number of women was negligible. It\u2019s great that there are now more and more women running. Year after year, the percentage of female participants is rising. We must continue to promote their participation to ensure that male and female participation becomes more equal.\" \n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe women\u2019s competition saw a significant leap forward. Until then, the best times had been set by the beloved Andoain-born athlete Mar\u00eda Luisa Irizar, who had three victories on this circuit and recorded her best time in 1987 (2h 36' 11\"). It took five years for Ana Isabel Alonso to beat that record (2h 35' 34\u201c). The Palencia native won three times, giving all of us track and field fans the thrill of witnessing the Spanish record in 1995 with a fantastic time of 2h 26' 51\u201d, a mark that still stands in the race\u2019s history. \n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Learn about the history of the San Sebasti\u00e1n Marathon When we talk about the San Sebasti\u00e1n Marathon, we’re talking about a race with more than 40 years of history\u2014the second-oldest in Spain. The history of the San Sebasti\u00e1n Marathon began on October 15, 1978. As such, after Madrid (May 21), it is the second oldest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":13808,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-17924","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurichmaratonsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurichmaratonsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurichmaratonsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurichmaratonsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurichmaratonsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17924"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/zurichmaratonsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18522,"href":"https:\/\/zurichmaratonsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17924\/revisions\/18522"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurichmaratonsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurichmaratonsansebastian.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}