Participating in the half marathon is essentially a running sightseeing tour of the beautiful Budapest. The course leads through the centre of the city, down the famous Andrassy Boulevard and across the Chain Bridge. Admire the view of the Buda Castle from the Danube banks and marvel in the panorama of Pest as well as Europe’s third largest Parliament building! There are over 15.000 participants on all the distances, with more than 10.000 half marathon runners and 1500 teams. However, no need to worry about crowding and overtaking as the start is done in waves so everyone has plenty of space to run. In 2017, there were more than 2400 foreign runners, almost 2000 of whom run the half marathon, from 71 countries. Most runners came from Britain, Slovakia and Poland, but there were also participants from Chile, Indonesia, and Singapore, just to name a few. Along the course there will be refreshment severy 4 to 5 kilometers and of course continuous medical supervision. Pace runners will help you hit your desired tempo. But having fun is just as important as running so we’ll maintain several musical points along the course for your entertainment. Each year participants receive a unique, race branded technical T-shirt and finishers are given a gorgeous medal. Budapest is the perfect destination for a weekend city trip. Budapest is the spa capital with over 100 thermal springs beneath the city that supply the famous baths. After the run you can rest your leg in the thermal pools of a unique 16th and 17th century Turkish baths or the neo-baroque Széchenyi bath. Also unique to Europe are Budapest’s ruin pubs. Located in the city centre, this new function saved countless old, run down building from demolition. Their atmosphere is unusual, their style is retro and they revive socialist realist interior design. The perfect place to grab a drink the night before or after the race. And while you are here don’t forget to try out the best of Hungary’s cuisine: a gulash, a stew, a strudel, and a pancake. If your stomach is sensitive, you may want to leave this for after the race! Watch this short video about the city and let yourself to be wowed: If you want to get behind the scenes regarding the Hungarian running society, ULTRA, the award winning documentary is a unique journey into the pasts, hearts and minds of ultra distance runners embraced by the running director.Their dream and burden is to finish an extreme running race to test their limits, heal their souls and release their demons. Every year, runners from all over the world participate in the Spartathlon, one of the most prestigious and challenging running competitions on the planet. The goal is to overcome the historic distance of 246 kilometres between Athens and Sparta within 36 hours. The protagonists and the director all have their own personal reasons for joining this extreme run. None of them knows if they will ever be able to succeed but they do know, that it is crucial for them to try and maybe reach the impossible. Instead of top athletes, the film shows “average” sportsmen. They are everyday athletes who test their limits, heal their souls, and expel their demons. The movie follows them as they confront extreme hardship and surpass the limits of their strength, both in their body and their mind. The Hungarian director, Balazs Simonyi, who has finished the Spartathlon race five times in a row, tells a touching and moving human drama about the runners and their universe of cathartic self-discoveries, voluntary suffering, and endorphin-soaked trance they sometimes fall into – peppered with a sprinkle of humour. A real first-hand experience, a unique insight into an unknown world. Text via The official website of the 33rd Wizz Air Budapest Half Marathon and Ultra documentary's website Photo: Pixabay