21.1
Bucharest's spring half marathon was created on the initiative of Constantina Diță, the 2008 Olympic marathon champion in Beijing, and is held on the last Sunday of April. It carries a World Athletics Label and an AIMS-certified course: a single flat, fast loop on wide boulevards, where organisers say more than half the field sets personal bests. The route starts on Bulevardul Constantin Prezan, heads through Piața Victoriei to the Arc de Triomphe and passes the colossal Palace of the Parliament around halfway. Alongside the half there is a 10 km through Herăstrău Park, a wheelchair race and a family 3.5 km, so beginners and kids are made welcome too. Bucharest is a city of contrasts: the Old Town's cafés and bars, Belle Époque Calea Victoriei, the open-air Village Museum and big green parks.