BUENOS AIRES MARATHON HISTORY: 40 EDITIONS AND SOUTH AMERICA'S FASTEST COURSE

The Maratón Internacional de Buenos Aires has been run 40 times since 1984, and in that span it has gone from a domestic race won by Argentine club runners to the fastest marathon in South America. The 2026 edition on September 20 will be the 41st.

The race is organized by the Asociación Ñandú and now carries a World Athletics Label, a status it has held since 2008. Its men's course record of 2:05:00 is the quickest marathon time ever recorded on the continent.

Before 1984

Buenos Aires had staged marathons long before the modern event existed. Races over the distance were held in the city in 1903 and again in 1910, and the 1910 edition was won by Dorando Pietri, the Italian who had been disqualified after being helped across the line at the 1908 London Olympics.

Argentina also had a deep distance running tradition of its own. Osvaldo Suárez and Domingo Amaison were among the country's best-known runners of the mid-20th century, and the organizers of the 1984 race cited both as the inspiration for a city marathon. Adidas backed the first edition as its main sponsor.

The First Decade

The inaugural race took place on September 29, 1984, with a men's field only. Rubén Aguiar of Argentina won in 2:21:27.

A women's race was added the following year. Derlis María Fraschina won it in 3:59:47, a time that reflects how few women were competing over the distance in Argentina at the time. Within three years the women's winning time had dropped by more than an hour, with Griselda González running 2:42:48 in 1988.

The early men's races belonged to Argentina and Brazil. Jorge Yeber ran 2:18:28 in 1987, Valmir de Carvalho brought the first Brazilian win in 1988 with 2:16:55, and Juan Pablo Juárez won in 1989 in 2:16:03. Juárez would win again in 1996.

Toribio Gutiérrez won twice, in 1991 and 1993. Between his two titles, Portugal's António Costa became the first winner from outside South America with a 2:18:31 in 1992. The fastest time of that period came from Brazil's Clair Wathier, who ran 2:14:02 in 1994. That mark stood as the course record for 15 years.

The race also moved around the calendar in those years. Editions were held in July, September, October, November and even December before it settled into a spring slot.

Kenya Arrives

William Musyoki became the first Kenyan winner in 1995 with a 2:16:59. It was an early sign of the shift that would define the race two decades later, though for the time being South American runners kept winning.

Nercy da Freitas of Brazil won the women's race three times, in 1987, 1996 and 1998. González returned in 1997 to win in 2:37:04, then the fastest women's time in the race's history. Sandra Torres of Argentina won four titles between 1999 and 2008, more than any other runner in the event.

The race was not held in 2002. When it returned in 2003, Oscar Cortínez and Verónica Páez completed an Argentine double, and both repeated in 2004.

Growth in the 2000s

Participation began to climb in the middle of the decade. The 2005 race drew roughly 3,000 entrants. By the 25th edition in 2009, more than 12,000 runners took part across the event, and over 6,000 completed the full marathon distance.

That 2009 race also produced a new course record. Mohamed Msandeki of Tanzania ran 2:13:55, taking Wathier's 15-year-old mark. Brazil's Sirlene de Pinho won the women's race in 2:38:08, her second title after 2007.

The World Athletics label, awarded in 2008, brought the race into the international road running circuit and attracted deeper elite fields. It also became a regular host of the South American Marathon Championship, staging the continental title race in 2009, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2024, and the Ibero-American championship in 2010 and 2017.

A Continental Race

Even before the label, the winners' list read like a map of South American distance running. Elsa Calderón of Chile won the 1990 women's race and her compatriot Érika Olivera won in 1995. Peru's José Castillo won the men's race in 1997, Uruguay's Néstor García in 2000, and Colombia's Juan Carlos Cardona in 2007 with a 2:16:06.

Rosalba Chacha of Ecuador won the women's race in 2010 in 2:37:16. Morocco's Abdelhakim Fahli became the first African winner from outside Kenya in 2008.

The Argentine women kept a strong hold on their race through the 2000s. Roxana Preussler won in 2005 and Andrea Graciano won in 2011, and Torres's fourth title in 2008 came 13 years after her first.

The East African Era

Simon Kariuki of Kenya won in 2:10:24 in 2011, the first time the race had been won in under 2:11. Eric Nzioki and Julius Karinga followed with Kenyan wins in 2012 and 2013.

The women's race in those years belonged to Lucy Karimi. The Kenyan won three consecutive titles from 2012 to 2014 and ran 2:34:32 in 2013.

Mariano Mastromarino interrupted the run of foreign winners in 2014 with a 2:15:28 victory. He remains the last Argentine man to win the race.

Ethiopia entered the winners' list in 2015, when Abeba Gebrene won the women's race in 2:30:33, then the fastest women's time in the event's history. Siraj Gena became the first Ethiopian men's winner a year later, and Bahrain's Lishan Dula won the 2016 women's race.

The record fell again in 2017, when Kenya's Barnabas Kiptum ran 2:09:46, the first sub-2:10 in the race's history. The following year the race moved to September for the first time in its modern era, and Emmanuel Saina took more than four minutes off the record with a 2:05:21. Vivian Jerono won the women's race in 2:30:16.

The 2:05:00 Race

The 2019 edition on September 22 stands as the fastest in the race's history. Evans Chebet of Kenya won in 2:05:00, setting a course record and the fastest marathon ever run in South America. Chebet would go on to win the Boston Marathon in 2022 and 2023 and the New York City Marathon in 2022.

Rodah Tanui won the women's race that day in 2:25:46. The Argentine national picture also moved forward on the same course, with Joaquín Arbe running 2:11:02 and Daiana Ocampo running 2:34:12.

The 35th edition drew 8,579 participants.

The Pandemic and After

The 2020 race was postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When it returned on October 10, 2021, the field was smaller, with 2,849 finishers, and the results had a local flavor. Héctor Garibay of Bolivia won the men's race in 2:11:58, the first Bolivian winner, and Florencia Borelli of Argentina won the women's race in 2:32:27.

The international fields returned in 2022. Victor Kipchirchir ran 2:07:03 and Tanui came back to win her second title. Tanui won again in 2023 and lowered the women's course record to 2:24:52. Cornelius Kibet won the 2023 men's race in 2:08:29.

Ethiopia has taken the lead in the most recent editions. Yenenesh Tilahun won the 2024 women's race in 2:27:15, while Kenya's Bethwel Yegon won the men's race in 2:09:04. In 2025, Habtamu Birlew Denekew and Elfinesh Demise Amare completed an Ethiopian double, with Amare running 2:28:12.

The Course

The route is one of the flatter big-city marathons. It runs through the Palermo woods, past the River Plate stadium and along Avenida del Libertador before turning into the center of the city.

Runners pass the Obelisk on Avenida 9 de Julio, then head south toward La Boca and the Caminito before returning through Puerto Madero and past the Casa Rosada. The only meaningful inclines come near Avenida 9 de Julio and on Avenida Sarmiento, and neither is steep.

September in Buenos Aires is early spring, which gives the race cool mornings and conditions that have supported both course records. The 2:05:00 and 2:24:52 marks were both set in September editions.

The Record Progression

The men's course record has changed hands seven times. Aguiar's 2:21:27 from the first edition gave way to Yeber's 2:18:28 in 1987, de Carvalho's 2:16:55 in 1988 and Juárez's 2:16:03 in 1989. Wathier's 2:14:02 in 1994 then held for 15 years until Msandeki's 2:13:55 in 2009.

The East African era compressed the rest of the progression into eight years. Kariuki's 2:10:24 in 2011, Kiptum's 2:09:46 in 2017, Saina's 2:05:21 in 2018 and Chebet's 2:05:00 in 2019 took more than eight minutes off the record in less than a decade.

The women's record followed a similar path. It moved from Fraschina's 3:59:47 through González's 2:42:48 and 2:37:04, de Pinho's 2:38:08 and Gebrene's 2:30:33 to Tanui's 2:25:46 and finally her 2:24:52.

The 2026 Edition

The 41st running takes place on September 20, 2026. The race remains the anchor of the South American marathon calendar, and any winner under 2:05:00 would set a new continental best on the same streets where Chebet ran his record seven years ago.