Daegu International Marathon Held After 4 Years... Over 15,000 Participants

The 2023 Daegu International Marathon, hosted by Daegu City and the Korea Association of Athletics Federations, will be held in downtown Daegu for the first time in four years as the city overcomes COVID-19.

The Daegu International Marathon is held annually on the first Sunday of April when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. This year’s event will gather at the National Debt Repayment Movement Memorial Park and Daegu City Dongin Office area on April 2, with four categories (full marathon, half marathon, 10 km, and health run) starting sequentially from 8 a.m. at Jonggak Intersection.

Daegu City is conducting a preliminary inspection meeting ahead of the international marathon event.

Based on the course of the 2011 Daegu World Championships in Athletics, this year’s marathon course is known as a fantastic route with minimal elevation changes and enthusiastic support from citizens, highly regarded by domestic and international marathoners. After four years, about 15,000 runners will participate together.

Daegu City held the ‘2023 Daegu International Marathon Progress Report Meeting’ on the 14th to minimize citizen inconvenience caused by traffic control and ensure a safe event, strengthening collaboration on 37 key areas.

Traffic control will begin at 5 a.m. on April 2, the day of the event, around the National Debt Repayment Movement Memorial Park, the starting point. Road closures along the marathon course will be enforced sequentially from 7:30 a.m. until 12 p.m., varying by category.

This year, the downtown section of the half marathon course (Sangdong Intersection ~ Daegu Bank Intersection ~ Banwoldang Intersection) will be rerouted via Sincheon-dong Road (9 km) to minimize citizen inconvenience. A free shuttle bus will operate between ‘Daegu Bank ↔ Deuran-gil Samgeori’ along the traffic island section affected by city bus route detours within the course (Daegu Bank Intersection ~ Suseong Intersection ~ Beomeo Intersection ~ Doosan Five-way Intersection ~ Sangdong Intersection).

Daegu City has requested that citizens check traffic control information related to the ‘2023 Daegu International Marathon’ in advance on portal sites and district/county websites.

Daegu City announced that registration began on January 2 and, as of March 10, 15,307 participants have registered. This is the first time the target (15,150 participants) was met without extending the registration period.

Kim Dong-woo, Director of the Daegu City Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, said, “We appreciate the citizens’ enthusiasm in applying for participation, cheering along the route, joining performances, volunteering for traffic control and event safety.” He added, “We are focusing on pre-event promotion to enhance participant satisfaction on the day of the event and minimize inconvenience for citizens enjoying the weekend.”