The beautiful and historic city of Budapest was the site of the 20th Budapest Marathon on Sunday, October 2, 2005, with associated Mini-Marathon. The people of Budapest turned out to support this race and enjoyed the festivities at the Varosliget (City Park) on marathon weekend.

The travel plans of two retired septuagenarians included a short genealogy research trip to the Czech Republic, a week of singing with the Berkshire Choral Group near Salzburg, Austria, a 295- mile bicycle ride from Passau, Germany, to Vienna, Austria, a few days in Vienna, and a few days in Budapest.

While planning the trip on the Internet, the Budapest races were discovered, so we extended our trip by one day to participate. Our travel plans are not based on a race, but if there is a race that fits in, why not?

During the packet pick-up the day before the race at Petofi Csarnok (Petofi Hall), there was an unexpected finding. We scanned the table with future race brochures and noted material for the 2006 Bangkok Thai Temple Run, a race we ran in 2004 and reported in the Nov-Dec 2004 issue of the Washington Running Report. There we were, on the front page, with a montage of five different race photos. After the race, we discovered a large Thai poster with the same photo.

Race day opened with an overcast sky. A short tram trip and two quick underground rides brought us to Hosok tere (Heroes' Square) at the City Park.

Nearly 3,000 individual runners, with another 800 team relay members, started the marathon at 10:00 am, to much fanfare at Heroes' Square. Fred Lebow, a Hungarian by origin, is said to have wanted the Budapest Marathon to start at Heroes' Square. The Mini, a 7.5-kilometer race with about 1,500 runners, assembled behind the marathon and the start was prompt at 10:15 am.

The Mini had a time clock at the end, but no individual times were recorded, so we abandoned the practice of edging up near the starting line as many competitive seniors have been known to do in the U.S., and settled for the middle of the pack. It took 43 seconds for us to get to the start line.

The temperature was in the 50s Fahrenheit. A light rain began at about 10:45, a minor annoyance, but not uncomfortable.

Without individual timing, we ran as if we were competing for age group places, selecting runners ahead that might be in our age group and passing them one by one. Through Heroes' Square, down the tree-lined Andrassy ut, two right turns, and past the famous Szechenyi Bath. Then, there is a sinuous route through the City Park and to the finish line.

The finish was respectable (for our age) with a "pseudo chip time" of 50:43 for the 7.5-kilometer Mini-Marathon. How we would have done in our age group will remain unknown. Our pace was slower than some of Jeanette's age group winning paces, and faster than others, so we were well satisfied with our effort, though disappointed that there was no official time.

Reviewing the results of the marathon published on the Internet, several finishers with mid-Atlantic addresses were noted, including 45-year-old Pamela Weiner of Ellicott City, who finished in a chip time of 3:44:07, good for third in her age group; Cletus Durkin of Arlington, with a 3:53:45 chip time; Robert Bartolo of Arlington, at 3:57:13; Tom Juhasz of Baltimore, completing a sub-four run in 3:59:08; and J. Ford Huffman of DC in 4:27:33.

The winner of the men's division in the marathon was 29-year-old Jackton Odhiambo from Kenya with a time of 2:22:03, 1:49 ahead of his countryman Kirui Philip Kipngeno. The women's division winner was Katalin Farkas, also 29, of Budapest. She ran a swift 2:49:31.

Budapest is a fine place to spend a few days, and this race should appeal to marathoners. It is flat, and the fall temperatures are nice. There are good amenities for the marathoners. The relay and Ekiden aspects are attractive alternatives to the full marathon.

This year's race is scheduled for October 1, 2006. Details can be found at Budapest Marathon.