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The 40th Wizz Air Budapest Half Marathon drew record crowds, with 6,300 foreign runners and over 20,000 participants.
The 40th Wizz Air Budapest Half Marathon concluded with Hungarian victories and drew more than 20,000 participants, making it the largest half marathon ever held in Hungary. Gábor Karsai won the men’s race, while Lili Vindics-Tóth triumphed in the women’s field, both also claiming the national half marathon championship title. The jubilee race also set a new record for international running tourists, significantly contributing to Budapest’s tourism revenues and boosting the city’s international prestige.
Held under sunny skies and ideal conditions, the course of the 40th Wizz Air Budapest Half Marathon ran through some of the most beautiful UNESCO World Heritage sites of the capital. On September 7, participants and the organizer, Budapest Sport Office, made history: with more than 20,000 registrants across various distances, a new participation record was set. For the individual half marathon distance (21.1 km), 13,800 runners signed up — another all-time record in Hungary.
In the men’s race, Gábor Karsai crossed the finish line first with a time of 1:04:03, while in the women’s competition Lili Vindics-Tóth won with 1:11:42, both finishing at the ELTE Lágymányos Campus.
The event engaged the entire country, with runners coming from 1,070 different Hungarian towns and villages. At the same time, international participation reached unprecedented levels: over 6,300 runners from 117 countries joined, meaning that every third half marathon competitor was from abroad. The largest groups of foreign participants came from Great Britain, Slovakia, and Germany.
“It was fantastic, we broke every record — this is the biggest half marathon ever in Hungary! The more than 6,000 runners from 117 countries, making up nearly 40% of the field, spent about 40,000 guest nights in Budapest, boosting the city’s prestige, and many will surely return. But most importantly, today was about the countless smiles and personal achievements — including over 2,000 runners who completed their very first half marathon. This was a true running festival, an uplifting moment that all of us — runners and organizers, Hungarians and international guests alike — can be incredibly proud of,” said Árpád Kocsis, managing director of the Budapest Sport Office.
The diversity of the running community was evident: women represented 47% of participants, more than 2,000 people completed the distance for the first time, and the field also included elite Hungarian athletes, former Olympians like Gábor Józsa, and ultrarunners such as András Lőw, a 21-time Spartathlon finisher. The passion for running proved timeless, with competitors ranging from teenagers to athletes in their 80s. The community was further enriched by professional championships, where over 1,450 entrants represented a wide variety of professions.
Alongside the half marathon, the Szimpatika 10 km race, as well as pair and trio relays, also proved highly popular. The event was equally successful in the field of charity: thanks to the runners’ collective efforts, 6.5 million forints were raised for various charitable organizations.
Source: Budapest Félmaraton
