Sarajevo Half Marathon

Einfach Spitze 🤩 nicht weil ich in Sarajevo geboren bin sondern alles super organisiert war. Vielleicht alte Strecke wäre noch besser 🤷‍♂️

Strecke war sehr flach und gut zu laufen

There are a few different races to choose from, including a fun run for kids. The half marathon started at 9am in front of the SCC Shopping Centre in the centre of Sarajevo, went towards the old town (south of it along the river), then out of the city into nature, then back towards the old town (north side), took a loop north and went through the stadium, then back to SCC, past it, right along the river for a few km and back to the start/finish. It wasn't crowded, most people spoke English, the weather was good, the crowds cheerful and in a very good mood. It was well organised, there were many happenings before and after and even free cevapcici after the run. The route is quite scenic, especially the stretch after the old town, where you run in a mountainous area and through a tunnel. I also liked the bit around the old town and running through the stadium. The route is almost flat and good for PBs. It was my first time in Sarajevo and I enjoyed it a lot.

Sorry to say, but it was really bad this year. I ran the Sarajevo half in 2019 and 2023 and both were fantastic. This year however, it was a disaster. There was no informational email before the run, so we didn't know the schedule nor did we know where to pick up the bags and bibs. Emails and messages on social media were not answered, nobody answered the phone and the address mentioned on the website must be wrong, because I went there and couldn't find them. There were no toilets anywhere on race day, there was no signage for the tent to leave the bags and nobody seemed to know where to leave the bags, the streets were opened to traffic after 2 hours, water stations and musicians disappeared after two hours, so did many marshalls and volunteers. The result was that many runners got lost because there was nobody there to show the correct way or in my case, I took a wrong turn. Due to road openings after two hours (cut off was three hours) slow runners had to run on the bad and narrow pavements. There was no concert the night before, as it was much advertised. There was no advertising anywhere in the city and people didn't know that there was a marathon.

The route was good. Mostly wide roads and the best bit was the stretch in the alley along the river.

According to the sensations and the clock, the route was approximately 400 meters longer. Otherwise everything is fine!

This was such a flat, enjoyable course! I loved how we crossed over bridges and ran by the water. It was a great way to see the city. I personally loved how it was two loops for the half so that way I knew what was coming up in the second lap. It was very easy to pick up the race packet and it was nice that the event wasn't overly crowded. Highly recommend!