The Beirut Marathon, is an annual event that takes place in Beirut, Lebanon. The first ever Marathon was held on October 19th, 2003 and attracted over 6,000 runners from 49 countries, and tens of thousands of Lebanese and international spectators. These numbers increased every year, most notably reaching 32,000 runners from 71 countries in the 2009 BLOM Beirut Marathon, and over 47,800 runners in 2017. It was recently accredited as a Silver Label Road Race by the IAAF. Beirut Marathon is the founding member of Asian Premier Marathons along with Beijing Marathon and Seoul Marathon. The race, created by businesswoman May El-Khalil, has the theme of unity at its core. Reaching out to all sides of the political spectrum in Lebanon, the day's events also include a 3 km race for MPs of any political allegiance, as well as members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon stationed in the country. Attendance and participation in the Beirut Marathon races continue to grow annually, and it commands the attention of national and international media. The marathons are managed by the Beirut Marathon Association, a non-profit non-governmental organization registered under the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Lebanon. The 2010 edition of the men's race was won by the pacemakerMohamed Temam. Hussein Awadah broke the Lebanese record at the race that year, completing the distance in at a time of 2:20:31. The course was altered to make it faster and easier to organise at the 2011 edition and the men's and women's record were both improved that year; Seada Kedir knocked over five minutes off the women's best time. It is sponsored by the BLOM Bank. Beirut Marathon Association also organizes their annual marathon village which is sponsored by Transmed in 2017. Transmed Marathon Village will be open from 8th November through 11th November from 5:00 to 11:00 pm. The village comprises an expo, Souk El Akel Food Market, BLOM Bank Beirut Marathon Bib Pick-up, 15th Year Museum, Activations and many more activities by exhibitors. The 2019 edition of the Beirut Marathon was cancelled.
