The 44th Faros Marathon, a 16km open sea swimming race will take place once again in Stari Grad on Hvar on September 7, 2019.
Of all the sporting events I have seen in Croatia, I can't recall one being more demanding or attracting a higher calibre of participant (from Olympic medal winners to world champions) than the Faros Marathon in Stari Grad.
An annual event since its inauguration in 1976, the Faros Marathon has been a popular fixture on the Stari Grad tourism calendar ever since. Although beset by problems in recent times and under threat of not taking place this year,
Thankfully, it has been announced this week that the Faros Marathon will take place this year, a little later than planned. In recent years, the race has taken place in the last weekend of August, but this year's event will now take place on Saturday, September 7 - the same month the marathon took place from its inception until 1997.
The race is gruelling. A 16-kilometre open sea swim from the Stari Grad harbour out to the tip of the Kabal Peninsula and back again, with the fastest recorded time so far being over three hours. There is both a men's and women's race, which will start simultaneously at 08:00 from the new riva.
The track records have been intact for years, held by German Alexander Studzinski 3:01:55 (2009) and American Christine Jennings 3:04:09 (2013), and at the national level by Duje Milan 3:06:24 (2013). ) and Karla Sitić 3:13:35 (2010).
Take a look at the Faros Marathon in years gone by, with this Hvar TV report on the 2015 race above and 1985 below.
to learn more about Stari Grad, here are 25 things to know.
