H.C. Andersen Marathon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids H.C. Andersen Marathon
Date	Late September
Location	Odense, Denmark
Event type	Road
Distance	Marathon, Half marathon
Established	2000
Course records	Men's: 2:10:37 (2012) Luka Chelimo Women's: 2:30:49 (2019) Jerubet Perez
Participants	881 finishers (2021) 1,236 (2019)

The H.C. Andersen Marathon (often called HCA Marathon) is a big running event that takes place in Odense, Denmark. It started in the year 2000. This race is named after the famous Danish fairy-tale writer, Hans Christian Andersen, who was born in Odense.

Besides the full marathon race, the event also includes a half marathon (which is half the distance of a full marathon) since 2006. From 2017, there's also a shorter 10K race called "Run the last 10".

The HCA Marathon was known as the world's fastest marathon in 2019. On average, runners finished the marathon in about 3 hours, 51 minutes, and 22 seconds. That's super fast! It's also known for having some of the cleanest air for a marathon race.

The Race Course

The HCA Marathon race follows a round path through the city. It starts and finishes at a place called Odense Idrætspark. Runners go around the course two times to complete the full marathon distance. The finish line is excitingly placed inside the athletics stadium.

Amazing Records and Winners

This section shares some cool facts about the fastest runners and past winners of the HCA Marathon.

Fastest Times Ever

These are the fastest times recorded for the full marathon at this event:

• Men's Record: 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 37 seconds by Luka Chelimo from Kenya in 2012.
• Women's Record: 2 hours, 30 minutes, and 48 seconds by Jerubet Perez from Kenya in 2019.

Past Winners of the Marathon

Here's a list of the winners for both men and women over the years. It shows how fast they ran and which country they were from.

Date	Men's Winner	Nation	Time	Women's winner	Nation	Time
October 15, 2000	Daniel Cheribo	Kenya	2:14:17	Gitte Karlshøj	Denmark	2:35:39
October 14, 2001	Witalij Melzajew	Ukraine	2:18:14	Gitte Karlshøj	Denmark	2:32:41
October 13, 2002	Andrei Tarassow	Russia	2:20:59	Karina Szymańska	Poland	2:33:20
October 12, 2003	Alexei Chlochlow	Russia	2:19:33	Gitte Karlshøj	Denmark	2:34:57
October 10, 2004	Daniel Too	Kenya	2:13:57	Gitte Karlshøj	Denmark	2:45:46
September 25, 2005	Josephat Rop	Kenya	2:14:49	Irina Songerlainen	Russia	2:41:25
September 17, 2006	Daniel Too	Kenya	2:15:49	Lene Duus	Denmark	2:40:41
September 23, 2007	Jonah Kemboi	Kenya	2:15:05	Irina Songerlainen (2)	Russia	2:42:15
September 21, 2008	Benjamin Serem	Kenya	2:14:44	Tatjana Mironowa	Russia	2:42:00
September 20, 2009	Jonah Kemboi	Kenya	2:15:32	Gitte Karlshøj	Denmark	2:51:30
September 19, 2010	Raymond Kandie	Kenya	2:10.41	Sviatlana Kouhan	Belarus	2:33:18
September 23, 2012	Luka Chelimo	Kenya	2:10:37	Emely Chepkorir	Kenya	2:34:48
September 22, 2013	Julius Mutai	Kenya	2:15:12	Annemette Aagaard	Denmark	2:52:19
September 28, 2014	James Cheboi	Kenya	2:17:16	Hellen Kimutai	Kenya	2:40:50
October 4, 2015	Julius Karinga	Kenya	2:11:21	Mulunesh Zewdu	Ethiopia	2:34:10
October 2, 2016	Fikadu Debele	Ethiopia	2:15:21	Roza Dereje	Ethiopia	2:31:16
October 1, 2017	Paul Chege	Kenya	2:14:37	Louise Batting	Denmark	2:38:52
September 30, 2018	Paul Matheka	Kenya	2:13:18	Bulbula Abebech	Ethiopia	2:42:23
September 29, 2019	Meseret Aragaw	Ethiopia	2:16:27	Jerubet Perez	Kenya	2:30:48
September 26, 2021	Martin Olesen	Denmark	2:22:57	Lene Broberg	Denmark	2:56:05
September 25, 2022	Michael Fogh	Denmark	2:30:29	Charlotte Kjærulff	Denmark	3:00:38
September 24, 2023	Martin Olesen	Denmark	2:27:58	Line Askheim	Norway	2:53:21
September 29, 2024	Jonas Nielsen	Denmark	2:23:26	Bouchra Eriksen	Denmark	2:53:56