sofiaekidenmarathon.com » Information about the race

Information about the race

Time and place of the event: 6th of September, 2023, Sofia city.

Starting time

The start of the Sofia Ekiden (Relay) Marathon will be given at 9.00 am in front of the Vasil Levski National Stadium, located at the intersection of Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi Blvd. and Gurko Str.

Main goals of the event

In honor of the 138 th anniversary of the Since Unification of Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia
Promotion of relay racing within the scope of road running.
Selection of the EKIDEN team champions of Bulgaria for 2023 in the organizers-set categories in Relay Running of 42.195 km

Legs Distances Numbers

1^st Leg – 5 km. - Numbers BIP with Blue digits – 1 lap.

2^nd Leg – 10 km. - Numbers BIP with RED digits – 2 laps.

3^rd Leg – 5 km. - Numbers BIP with Brown digits – 1 lap

4^th Leg – 10 km. - Numbers BIP with Orange digits – 2 laps.

5^th Leg – 5 km. - Numbers BIP with Green digits – 1 lap.

6^th Leg – 7.195 km - Numbers BIP with Yellow digits – 1 lap.

Route

The START / FINAL of the Sofia Ekiden Marathon 2023 will be given in front of the Vasil Levski National Stadium, which is located at the intersection of Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi Blvd. and Gurko Str. The route of the Relay Marathon will include a 5 km-long lap, which will go through the central part of the city of Sofia, along Evlogi and Hristo Georgiev Blvd. (Western lane), Prof. Frityof Nansen Str. (to Vasil Levski Blvd.) and through Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi Blvd., Bulgaria Blvd. to Pencho Slaveykov Blvd. and back to Bulgaria Blvd., to the right on Cherni Vruh Blvd. near the Earth and People Museum and back to Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi Blvd. (Eastern lane), and Vasil Levski Stadium. The sixth leg, which is also the last covers Dragan Tsankov Blvd and a tour of Borisova gradina. The route will be marked throughout its entire length with railings, lanes and directional arrows on the pavement. There will be judges, located at the key locations. The organizer reserves the right to make changes to the lap of the route if necessary.

Control timings

The control timing for each of the participating teams in the Sofia Ekiden Marathon is 4.01 hours, divided in 6 legs, as follows:

First leg - 5 km. - 32 min. - 9.32 h - one lap
Second leg - 10 km. - 50 min. - 10.24 h - two laps
Third leg - 5 km. - 32 min. - 10.54 h - one lap
Fourth leg - 10 km. - 50 min. - 11.44 h - two laps
Fifth leg - 5 km. - min. - 12.16 h - one lap
Sixth leg - 7.195 km. - 45 min. - 13.01 h - one lap

Remark:

The control timing of the Fifth leg is conditional, competitors running on legs One to Five may run their distances more slowly, but their teammates will need to compensate the time losses from the overall schedule. In case the competitors running the Fifth leg don’t manage to forward the baton to their teammates in the Sixth leg by 12.16 pm, then at 12.20 pm all Sixth leg runners will begin racing in a mass start and their timings will be added to the ones of their teammates who have already finished. There will be no disqualified teams.