The Kassa-Miskolc Ultramarathon international running competition, which was successfully restarted in 2019 after a 20-year hiatus, is celebrating a small anniversary this spring, as it is being held for the fifth time.

The partnership of the Kassai Marathon Club, which is organizing the 100th (!) Kassai Peace Marathon in the fall, is an honor and a source of pride for the Miskolc organizers.

Preparations for this year’s international running competition have of course been going on for months, as part of this, the Hungarian and Slovak organizing partners recently held their first personal meeting. On the initiative of Branislav Koniar, the president of the Kassai Marathon Club, the current issues of the joint event to be held on Saturday, April 22, were discussed in Kassa. The organizing Marathon Club from Miskolc was represented at the meeting by president István Szűcs and vice president Máté Brógli. The host, who is also the race director of the Kassai Béke Marathon, which is celebrating its 100th edition this year, stated in his introduction that in 2023, they would like to strengthen their cooperation with their professional partner from Miskolc even closer than before. One significant segment of this is that as part of the promotion of the 100th Kassai Peace Marathon in October, the V. Kassa-Miskolc Ultramarathon is also promoted in parallel, among other things, at joint Hungarian and Slovak press conferences. The information about the joint competition is shared on their website and with the players in their own, thousands of databases. In exchange, the Miskolc association advertises Europe’s oldest marathon among Hungarian runners on its own websites. Since nearly 15,000 runners are expected in Kassa for the Peace Marathon on October 1, there is a serious chance that some of the runners will be able to find accommodation in Miskolc the day before. For this, in addition to the recommendation of sports partners, it is also necessary to find each other in tourism and hospitality in Kasa and Miskolc.

They are also making new products

In connection with the V. Kassa-Miskolc Ultramarathon, it is a novelty that this year, for the first time, with the cooperation of the Slovak partner, Slovak runners can apply directly to the Kassa-Miskolc Ultramarathon. Registration has already started on the website www.maratonclubmiskolc.hu, which also includes the details of the competition, and the same is expected on the Slovak website in the second half of January.

A new joint website (https://kosicemiskolcultramarathon.eu) will soon be ready, which will serve to reach the runners more directly and to provide a more regular and efficient flow of information.

In addition to the previous women’s and men’s individual competition, this year there will also be a doubles category, the players of which can change each other not only at a specific point, but at any transition point as desired. In the 5- and 10-member relays, in addition to the men’s and mixed categories, women’s relays are also given the opportunity to compete. This year, the organizers are counting on the municipalities of Sajóvámos, Szikszó, Hernádkércs, Abaújszántó, Vizsoly, Gönc, Kéked, Nyizna Mysla and Krasna, which play an indispensable role as a change and refreshment point.

At the meeting in Kassa, it was also said that the financial support of the municipalities of the two sister cities is still essential for the high-quality organization of the event, and that successful applications and the involvement of supporters also play a decisive role.

Negotiations will continue in Miskolc in January 2023, with the involvement of additional contributors.