The main 43rd Athens Marathon was run on Sunday 8th November 2026.  Officially named 'Athens Marathon: The Authentic' the main athletes race started at 08:30am from Marathon and covered the 42.195 kms route, ending at the marble Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.  The Athens Marathon follows the legendary route associated with the ancient Greek messenger Pheidippides, connecting the historic town of Marathon with the Panathenaic Stadium, the site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.  Over 85,000 runners from 124 countries took part in the six distance events over the weekend.  Earlier that morning, Panagiotis Petroulakis won the men's 10-kilometre race in a record time of 29:40, while Anastasia Marinakou secured her sixth consecutive victory in the women's 10-kms event.

The Athens Marathon 2026 was an occassion to break many previously held course and event records.  This year, the main event attracted many elite runners from around the world.  The victor in the men's race was Manazut Siyoum Taferi from Ethiopia, completing the race in a record time of 2:10:03.  His fellow countryman Asefa Tefera Mengisha finished second in 2:10:18, also running faster than the previous record of 2:10:34 set in 2023, while Patrick Keter Kiplagat from Kenya took third place in 2:11:22. 

Ethiopia also dominated the women's race, with Yatane Kormose Dusa winning in a time of 2:30:04, breaking the previous course record of 2:31:06 set in 2010.  Fellow Ethiopian Tsiyon Abebe Temesgen finished as runner-up in 2:30:29, followed by American Jane Chemkemboy Bareikis in 2:32:59.  Greece's Stamatia Noula set a national record for the historic course, finishing sixth overall in 2:35:13. Konstantinos Stamoulis (the 2025 runner-up) was the first Greek man to finish, placed eigth overall in a time of 2:17:37.

The Athens Marathon is widely considered as one of the toughest major road marathons in the world.  While the first 10 kilometres from Marathon are relatively gentle, the course turns into a relentless uphill climb for the next 20 kilometres, a total elevation gain of up to 380 metres, making it a massive test of stamina rather than a fast course for personal records.  After hitting the peak near the 31 kilometre mark, runners then face a steep, harsh, pounding downhill stretch into Athens for the final 11 kilometres.  Most runners generally agree that its demanding elevation and rural stretches keep it from being a flat 'World Marathon Major', though it remains a bucket-list achievement for many running athletes for its great historical significance, recreating the first Marathon run of 490 BC.

The 43rd Athens Marathon 2026 officially came to an end on Sunday evening when its final runner crossed the finish line at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.  The runner was Idomeneos Avramakis, a competitor in the over-75 age category, who ran the historic course barefoot, dressed in an ancient Greek hoplite outfit.  Idomeneos has now completed more than 54 marathons.  This year's running event concluded with seven records across its programme, including two course records and five event records.