Record turnout at Budapest Marathon

The 33rd Budapest Marathon Festival broke all previous records with more than 33,000 participants, the organizers said here on Sunday.

"Some 33,500 people participated at the event, shattering all previous record," the organizers of the running festival Budapest Sport Office (BSI) declared in a statement.

"The number of the foreign runners also broke former records, with 5,100 foreigners coming from 96 different countries running in Budapest," BSI added.

The race took place under beautiful weather, mild temperatures, sunshine and no wind.

In the men race, Gaspar Csere was the fastest runner with a time of 2:20:08, followed by Peter Jenkei (2:21:16) and Levente Balazs (2:38:34), while Tunde Szabo was the fastest woman with 2:47:40, ahead of Simona Staicu (2:38:34) and Krisztina Ruscsek (3:04:22).

"It was wonderful to run in this Indian summer," 40-year-old runner Tamas told Xinhua. The father of three added: "I can hardly wait for my kids to come and run with me, but they are still too small for such a long run!"

The oldest marathon man was 80-year-old Ferenc Richter, and the 69-year-old Belgian Claudia Farnaud was the oldest woman runner.

The marathon is popular because participating in the Budapest Marathon is essentially a running sightseeing tour of the beautiful Budapest.

The course leads through the center of the city, down the famous Andrassy Boulevard and across the Chain Bridge. The view of the Buda Castle from the Danube banks is marvelous, just as the panorama of Pest as well as Europe's third largest parliament building.