Belgrade, Serbia. April 2023.
An orchestra played classical music in the imposing Ada Bridge while serbian flags were waving. We ran through the historic center, still with ruins of the NATO bombings, and the new town, with its soviet archicture. Belgrade is a capital that is proud of its past but designs its modernity, in its own way.
Lejla said:
Catch the Rabbit, Lana Bastašić
—My mother still has Tito’s portrait. She has it in the pantry, behind the vinaigrette jars. If you look closely, you can see one of his eyes between two pieces of pickles
📷 The trip: what to see in Belgrade in a day
After a convenient flight of less than 3 hours, we arrived in Belgrade on Friday night at the airport, named after Nikola Tesla, a name that is everywhere in Belgrade.
His museum has become itself one of the main attractions of the Belgrade.
The runner’s fair was open the 3 previous days before the race, and was located in the Belgrade fair complex, next to the Sava riverbank.
A little bit of history…
On Saturday, we went there on foot. The walk allowed us to see some buildings still in ruins, such as the old Ministry of Defense, a consequence of the bombing of the city by NATO forces in 1999.
Curiosly, that year Belgrade’s marathon was run nonetheless, and, when researching for the trip, I stumbled across a photograph with a “Run for fun, not from bombs” sign at the starting line:
The Running Expo 🎽
That Saturday morning there were not too many people at the “running expo“, so we could enjoy the stands; we were able to check our chip and see how some athletes got on stage to give a talk; but they spoke in Serbian, so we did not understand what they were saying 😅.
Interestingly, there were 4 times as many runners signed up for the half marathon than for the full, and after finding our names on a panel of all runners, we picked up our runner’s bag (with very cool Nike tshirts) and set off to visit the city.
The WaterFront
We walked through a radically different area, the waterfront, full of new residential skyscrapers advertised with photos of women who looked like they were in “Breakfast in Tiffany’s”, and restaurants in converted warehouses, with oak tables and white cushioned-sofas on their terraces. A dredging ship was plying the Sava and on the shore, we mingled with the hundreds of Serbs who were enjoying their sunny Saturday with an ice cream.
Highlights of a beatiful city
Later we visited the historic center: first the Kalemegdan Park and the Belgrad Fortress, from which you can see the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and where the Serbian army has placed an entire arsenal of military weapons.
We continued with the mandatory carboloading in one of the restaurants on Knez Mihailova street.
Finally we saw the memorial to the children killed in the bombings in the Tašmajdan Park,
We also visited the magnificent temple of Saint Sava and its golden interior mosaics.
🍜 Carboloading: what to eat in Belgrade if you are a runner
For carbo loading, you can opt for slices of bread with Kajmaj, a unique Serbian creme: an ideal breakfast a couple of hours before the race!
Since Serbian cuisine makes extensive use of meat and potatoes, often in stews, you will have plenty of options for both carboloading and recovery.
The very Serbian Karađorđeva šnicla 🍖, named after a Revolutionary, is a caloric bomb (around 600 calories per serving) of rolled veal or pork, stuffed with the former kajmaj, and then breaded and fried. Ït can fuel your run to unknow limits 😅
🏃♀️ The race
The starting line
The day of the race the weather was excellent. It was sunny and at the temperature was just over 20 degrees celcius, something that suited us, southern Europeans 😇. We were lucky, according to what the girl who had given us the BIBs told us: “only two weeks ago, it was snowing heavily“. She had toped off her explanation waving her hand and adding: “that’s how changeable the weather is here” 😲…
At the starting line, paper stars with the official colors of the marathon fell down and loudspeakers played patriotic songs while the speaker said that there were runners of 64 different nationalities. Around us, l I saw some Swiss, Russian and Israeli, but the little Serbian flags on the BIBs were an overwhelming majority.
First Half
We left in an orderly fashion.
We then ran the first 2 kilometers along very wide avenues. Avenues with monumental buildings adorned with tricolor flags and tram tracks on the road.
You had to be careful not to put your foot in a hole next to the guides. We had placed ourselves in a slower starting box than our usual pace. Later, we had difficulties to overtake; the Serbs seemed most disciplined. They ran as if they were a troop.
I was looking at the rest of the runners. This is something I always do. As if I could distill the essence of the race looking at the people who run it.
In this one I saw groups of runners with strident combinations of leggings, fluorescent T-shirts, and army-print shorts.
Also a guy running bare-chested with a huge Russian flag. Or a hunched-over guy with the typical tread of someone who has thousands and thousands of miles in his legs. A writing on his shirt confirmed my suspicion, stating that he had run more than 100 marathons. “100+ marathon” was understandable enough, even in Cyrillic.
The second half
The race leaves the historical center and crosses the bridge to reach Novi Grad.
This is a part of the city that transports you to the former Yugoslavia. Hip-hop music was playing at full volume on the bridge. In the distance, the masses of ex-Soviet apartment buildings were already in sight. It was a shocking combination. Shortly after, just after kilometer 5, we found the expectant faces of those who were waiting to run the second relay of the “Team half marathon“. Apparently a pretty popular option.
In Novi Grad the tonic of the entire race is followed. Wide streets and without elevation, and supplies with full bottles of water and isotonic drinks every 6 kilometers.
Flower beds full of flowers, solid concrete buildings, on the sidewalks zumba groups dancing to the rhythm of “Samba de Janeiro”, saxophonists (there seems to be a great tradition of wind instruments in the city), speakers playing “Eye of the Tiger”, and municipal employees who sprayed the runners with hoses.
I assumed that, had it snowed, the organization would have saved the expense.
The attraction of the marathon is to cross the Ava bridge, which is done twice. Its entrance and exit ramps, at kilometers 12 and 14 approximately, are the only elevations of the course.
In the middle of the bridge there was a stage with an orchestra playing classical music. A classy touch with the (blue) Danube in the distance!
I have named this post myself with the crossing of the bridge, and as a homage to the Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andric, who wrote, precisely in Belgrade, “A bridge over the Drina river”.
The end
The final part is the most complicated since at kilometer 19 there is a slight ascent, which extends to kilometer 20, but it is worth overcoming it to enter Terazija avenue, already flat, to the sound of “Bella Ciao”.
Some runners even sang the chorus in Italian while many spectators cheered “go runners, go”; the goal was visible at only 400 meters away.
The race finishes in Nikola Pašić square, in the middle of water fountains and a wonderful, very festive atmosphere.
It was hard to believe that only 20 years ago a few had run it, defiant, under a gray rain and with threats of bombing.
Map
Useful information
🏆 Beogradski Maraton (42K) / Polumaraton (21K) / Polumaraton Relay / 10K. First edition: 1989. Number of runners: 10.500 in 2023. Cut-off time: 6h for the marathon.
⛰️ Difficulty: Easy. One ramp, in the last 2 kms, but of only 100m.
🌐 Website: https://bgdmarathon.org/?lang=en
🗓️ End of April in Belgrade, Serbia – Europe.
👟 City shoes, no sunscreen is necessary. For those Europeans, remember to pack your passport, as Serbia is not part of the Schengen area.
🏅 In the runner’s bag there are good technical shirts from Nike. Upon arrival, great medals are given (the half one looked like one for a full). In addition to the typical massage stands, there was even a podium set up for taking pictures of dogs!
✅ Good atmosphere, not overcrowded and well organized.
✅ Race course relatively flat and with good scenery.
❌ Positive elevation in the last two kilometers.
❌ Avoid if you are allergic to national flags and symbols.
To know more…
| 📖 “Catch the Rabbit”, by Lana Bastašić 📖 “The Bridge on the Drina” by Ivo Andrić. 🎬 “Montevideo, bog te video”, directed by Dragan Blelogrlic, 2010 |
