Marathon Details - Jerusalem Marathon

International Marathons > Israel > Jerusalem > Jerusalem Marathon

Jerusalem Marathon & Half Marathon, 10K, 5K

Jerusalem, Israel

March 21, 2025

http://www.jerusalem-marathon.com

More Info:	News
Results:	Top 3 Finishers by Year

Contact

Name:	Sarit Kedar
Address:
Phone Number:	+972-2-5794666
Email:	Email the organizers



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Reviews

Course 4.5

Organization 3.9

Spectators 3.3

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Number of comments: 12 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

Neil Gillman from Israel (1/7/2024) "Hilly and historic" (about: 2023) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Jerusalem Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The Jerusalem Marathon is my home race and I've completed the full course three times as well as the half distance on two occasions (officially). Starting with Israel's Parliament (the Knesset) to your right and the Israel museum to your left, the route passes the newly opened national library, before going around the Givat Ram campus of Hebrew University and then down past the Supreme Court. The next major site is the home of the President and then up into town and out and back on a very up and down route towards Mount Scopus with views to the Dead Sea and Jordan. Runners enter the Old City via the Jaffa Gate, passing David's Citadel, and going through the Armenian Qtr before exiting at the Zion Gate and going back to the new city. The route continues to wind around, passing the President's residence for a second time, passing through trendy Emek Refaim St and back past the First Station complex before going onto the Armon Hanatziv promenade with a view towards the Old City. From here you're getting close to the end but there is time for some more hills before you get there including one which will drain the final strength from your legs at km 39. The crowds are not huge although certain sections are pretty busy. Did I mention that it's hilly? Come prepared psychologically that just when you thought you're done with the uphills there's always one more around the corner.
Alisa Jaffe from Florida USA (4/15/2019) "A historic marathon race to run" (about: 2019) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran this race March 15 2019. It was fantastic! A little disorganized at the start because the half marathoners start first and notorious to Israelis they are late comers to the race holding back the start time for the full marathoners maybe 5 or 10 minutess. The courses are very different for the various courses runners run that day. The full marathon takes you on a very steep almost 3 mile long climb up Mt. Scopus at around 12KM. There are about 5 other rather steep climbs along the course including one towards the end. This is not a course for beginners. You must complete it in 6 hours or less. However it is fantastic as there are both historic and modern sites all along the course. The DJs and live music is great along the course and great crowds in the busiest areas. I chose to wear a hydration vest carrying my own nutrition that I trained with in the US. I filled my bottles up twice along the course with the bottled water they provided. and mixed my nutrition. Due to security reasons you either have to walk to the start at Sachar Park or you have to get there 90 minutes earlier by transportation shuttle or taxi. I chose to walk about 2 miles from my hotel which was a good way to warm up. It is a very challenging course but one of the best most memorable races I've ever run. A historic run well worth the travel and effort to train for this medal. A must do full marathon in an amazing city Jerusalem.
N. W. from US (3/15/2019) "challenging course, very disorganized race" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 The course is challenging and takes you for a brief time through the Old City in Jerusalem. The half marathon was very crowded. The organization of the race was dismal. There was little information as to where to the start was and the race map was too small to decipher. Like other races I have run in the Middle East, they give out full bottles of water, but at least here they opened them for you. I do think it is a horrible waste of bottled water and plastic. They give out the same shirt and medal for all races from the 5K to the full marathon. Post race you were only given an apple and an orange. If you don't like crowds stay away - the post race event in the park was a madhouse.
H. P. from Heidelberg, Germany (3/23/2016) "an enjoyable and most difficult road race ever" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 It may be the most difficult road race, always up and down. Some slopes are really steep. The weather was almost 30C for the previous week. Luckily the week of the race day was cool, but there is a chance of having hot weather for this race. Organization was good. The pasta party before the race day was great. There were a lot to eat. On race day, they gave out a plastic bag and sticker on the spot for luggage storage. To facilitate matter, I think this can be done during the race kit pickup. I remember I got energy gels three or four times. I was very slow and there was no water at 40 km. They removed the iron railings on the street before the race ended. I wasn't wearing my glasses and nearly lost my way. The spectators were great, especially for the children. The overall course was beautiful. You ran to a place where you can have a panorama of the old city, the golden dome was easily seen. You also run a small distance in the old city. Overall, I highly recommend this race. I enjoyed it a lot.
RAEF guirges from USA (3/22/2015) "I will run this marathon each year." (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 3 Jerusalem Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 135th marathon. I ran a marathon in each state and I ran a marathon in 6 continents. The only time I will not be able to run this marathon is if I'm in the hospital.
M. S. from Jerusalem (6/2/2014) "first 'marathon' experience" (about: 2014) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Disclaimer: I ran as part of a charity group so I didn't have to deal with sign up and bib pick up. I did the 10k as a novice runner with about six months of regular running about 5-7k a few times a week, though I am now training for the full marathon. The views, history, and the spectators make the experience amazing, but the hills are no joke. I live here in Jerusalem and I make hills part of most every run. Some thoughts: The 10k field was packed and getting through the crowd was chaos which meant hitting a comfortable pace took time. The mini-bottles of water were perfect (no food or energy gels for the 10k). The cobble stones from The Jaffa gate and through the old city forced me to walk rather then risk injury. Bottom line I will do it again and I am proud that I did even at a pedestrian 1:07:28
B. Z. from Jerusalem, Israel (4/24/2014) "Hilly, historic" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Living in Jerusalem, I couldn't pass up the chance to do this race. It was a great tour of the city (Old City, amazing views, neighborhoods). It was hilly, but after running here a year, it was to be expected. The organizers generally did a good job, except for a few areas: First, there needs to be more gatorade (or whatever the Israeli equivalent is) on the course. On a hot day, people need to replace electrolytes. Also, the start was a mess, and hard to navigate (I can't walk through the park? But that's the park where the starting area is.) But the real problem was at the end. There were no refreshments for the marathoners (really, none!) nowhere to deposit the chips (I gave mine to a volunteer and pray he delivered it). But the expo was nice, if not spectacular, the shirts a nice, bright yellow, the water stations hand out bottles of water, not cups. But I'm glad I did it, and will remember it fondly.
D. K. from Jerusalem, Israel (6/6/2013) "Amazing marathon experience" (about: 2013) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Jerusalem Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I have run the last two Jerusalem Marathons. Everything about the races have been great. The prerace pickup was well organized and had lots of good booths. The morning of the race, there were plenty of different ways to get to the start, I chose to bike. This is a nice small marathon, around 1000, so finding a spot to change and get through bag check is easy. The starting point is close by. If you expect to break 3:30, then you get to start with the elites. The course is fun, filled with great sites. The water stations give out bottles instead of cups, but don't expect Gatorade. The course is tough, lots of hills. It winds past lots of landmarks and through the center of city
RAEF GUIRGES from USA (3/5/2013) "ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING COURSE" (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This is my 104 marathon and my first marathon in Jerusalem. Great course an outstanding organization. A lot of hills but this is Jerusalem. I will run this marathon again next year and the year after. This marathon is one of the hardest marathon out of my 103 marathons that i ran. I hope next year they will pass a sport drinks.
M. I. from Hertfordshire Gt Britain (3/16/2012) "its even better" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I was due to run the full marathon but a recent illness led me to drop back to the half so some of my comments should be taken with that in mind. Read last year and all the improvements I asked for have been made. The running numbers have your name on them, the route marking and kilometrage is excellent and the colours for the different events are much clearer. The course is better but still strikingly scenic and putting a view of the world's most beautiful cityscape at 20miles must be a good idea even though it is during yet another tough hill! The final 100m in the park is now hard surface but the weather oh the weather! If you are running this do not assume it will be hot dry middle eastern marathon. It was 8 degrees with horizontal hail and storms which I last encountered running the Reykjavik marathon. This is an excellent marathon and I commend it to anyone, just do not under-dress!

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

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Neil Gillman from Israel (1/7/2024) "Hilly and historic" (about: 2023) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Jerusalem Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The Jerusalem Marathon is my home race and I've completed the full course three times as well as the half distance on two occasions (officially). Starting with Israel's Parliament (the Knesset) to your right and the Israel museum to your left, the route passes the newly opened national library, before going around the Givat Ram campus of Hebrew University and then down past the Supreme Court. The next major site is the home of the President and then up into town and out and back on a very up and down route towards Mount Scopus with views to the Dead Sea and Jordan. Runners enter the Old City via the Jaffa Gate, passing David's Citadel, and going through the Armenian Qtr before exiting at the Zion Gate and going back to the new city. The route continues to wind around, passing the President's residence for a second time, passing through trendy Emek Refaim St and back past the First Station complex before going onto the Armon Hanatziv promenade with a view towards the Old City. From here you're getting close to the end but there is time for some more hills before you get there including one which will drain the final strength from your legs at km 39. The crowds are not huge although certain sections are pretty busy. Did I mention that it's hilly? Come prepared psychologically that just when you thought you're done with the uphills there's always one more around the corner.
Alisa Jaffe from Florida USA (4/15/2019) "A historic marathon race to run" (about: 2019) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran this race March 15 2019. It was fantastic! A little disorganized at the start because the half marathoners start first and notorious to Israelis they are late comers to the race holding back the start time for the full marathoners maybe 5 or 10 minutess. The courses are very different for the various courses runners run that day. The full marathon takes you on a very steep almost 3 mile long climb up Mt. Scopus at around 12KM. There are about 5 other rather steep climbs along the course including one towards the end. This is not a course for beginners. You must complete it in 6 hours or less. However it is fantastic as there are both historic and modern sites all along the course. The DJs and live music is great along the course and great crowds in the busiest areas. I chose to wear a hydration vest carrying my own nutrition that I trained with in the US. I filled my bottles up twice along the course with the bottled water they provided. and mixed my nutrition. Due to security reasons you either have to walk to the start at Sachar Park or you have to get there 90 minutes earlier by transportation shuttle or taxi. I chose to walk about 2 miles from my hotel which was a good way to warm up. It is a very challenging course but one of the best most memorable races I've ever run. A historic run well worth the travel and effort to train for this medal. A must do full marathon in an amazing city Jerusalem.
N. W. from US (3/15/2019) "challenging course, very disorganized race" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 The course is challenging and takes you for a brief time through the Old City in Jerusalem. The half marathon was very crowded. The organization of the race was dismal. There was little information as to where to the start was and the race map was too small to decipher. Like other races I have run in the Middle East, they give out full bottles of water, but at least here they opened them for you. I do think it is a horrible waste of bottled water and plastic. They give out the same shirt and medal for all races from the 5K to the full marathon. Post race you were only given an apple and an orange. If you don't like crowds stay away - the post race event in the park was a madhouse.
H. P. from Heidelberg, Germany (3/23/2016) "an enjoyable and most difficult road race ever" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 It may be the most difficult road race, always up and down. Some slopes are really steep. The weather was almost 30C for the previous week. Luckily the week of the race day was cool, but there is a chance of having hot weather for this race. Organization was good. The pasta party before the race day was great. There were a lot to eat. On race day, they gave out a plastic bag and sticker on the spot for luggage storage. To facilitate matter, I think this can be done during the race kit pickup. I remember I got energy gels three or four times. I was very slow and there was no water at 40 km. They removed the iron railings on the street before the race ended. I wasn't wearing my glasses and nearly lost my way. The spectators were great, especially for the children. The overall course was beautiful. You ran to a place where you can have a panorama of the old city, the golden dome was easily seen. You also run a small distance in the old city. Overall, I highly recommend this race. I enjoyed it a lot.
RAEF guirges from USA (3/22/2015) "I will run this marathon each year." (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 3 Jerusalem Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 135th marathon. I ran a marathon in each state and I ran a marathon in 6 continents. The only time I will not be able to run this marathon is if I'm in the hospital.
M. S. from Jerusalem (6/2/2014) "first 'marathon' experience" (about: 2014) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Disclaimer: I ran as part of a charity group so I didn't have to deal with sign up and bib pick up. I did the 10k as a novice runner with about six months of regular running about 5-7k a few times a week, though I am now training for the full marathon. The views, history, and the spectators make the experience amazing, but the hills are no joke. I live here in Jerusalem and I make hills part of most every run. Some thoughts: The 10k field was packed and getting through the crowd was chaos which meant hitting a comfortable pace took time. The mini-bottles of water were perfect (no food or energy gels for the 10k). The cobble stones from The Jaffa gate and through the old city forced me to walk rather then risk injury. Bottom line I will do it again and I am proud that I did even at a pedestrian 1:07:28
B. Z. from Jerusalem, Israel (4/24/2014) "Hilly, historic" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Living in Jerusalem, I couldn't pass up the chance to do this race. It was a great tour of the city (Old City, amazing views, neighborhoods). It was hilly, but after running here a year, it was to be expected. The organizers generally did a good job, except for a few areas: First, there needs to be more gatorade (or whatever the Israeli equivalent is) on the course. On a hot day, people need to replace electrolytes. Also, the start was a mess, and hard to navigate (I can't walk through the park? But that's the park where the starting area is.) But the real problem was at the end. There were no refreshments for the marathoners (really, none!) nowhere to deposit the chips (I gave mine to a volunteer and pray he delivered it). But the expo was nice, if not spectacular, the shirts a nice, bright yellow, the water stations hand out bottles of water, not cups. But I'm glad I did it, and will remember it fondly.
D. K. from Jerusalem, Israel (6/6/2013) "Amazing marathon experience" (about: 2013) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Jerusalem Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I have run the last two Jerusalem Marathons. Everything about the races have been great. The prerace pickup was well organized and had lots of good booths. The morning of the race, there were plenty of different ways to get to the start, I chose to bike. This is a nice small marathon, around 1000, so finding a spot to change and get through bag check is easy. The starting point is close by. If you expect to break 3:30, then you get to start with the elites. The course is fun, filled with great sites. The water stations give out bottles instead of cups, but don't expect Gatorade. The course is tough, lots of hills. It winds past lots of landmarks and through the center of city
RAEF GUIRGES from USA (3/5/2013) "ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING COURSE" (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This is my 104 marathon and my first marathon in Jerusalem. Great course an outstanding organization. A lot of hills but this is Jerusalem. I will run this marathon again next year and the year after. This marathon is one of the hardest marathon out of my 103 marathons that i ran. I hope next year they will pass a sport drinks.
M. I. from Hertfordshire Gt Britain (3/16/2012) "its even better" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Jerusalem Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I was due to run the full marathon but a recent illness led me to drop back to the half so some of my comments should be taken with that in mind. Read last year and all the improvements I asked for have been made. The running numbers have your name on them, the route marking and kilometrage is excellent and the colours for the different events are much clearer. The course is better but still strikingly scenic and putting a view of the world's most beautiful cityscape at 20miles must be a good idea even though it is during yet another tough hill! The final 100m in the park is now hard surface but the weather oh the weather! If you are running this do not assume it will be hot dry middle eastern marathon. It was 8 degrees with horizontal hail and storms which I last encountered running the Reykjavik marathon. This is an excellent marathon and I commend it to anyone, just do not under-dress!

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Marathon Details - Jerusalem Marathon