Marathon of Afghanistan
We played an integral part in organising the Marathon of Afghanistan from 2015 to 2020. It was and remains to this date the country’s only mixed gender sporting event. At it’s peak, 800 people ran across 3 race lengths, half of which were Afghan women. We also arranged travel and logistics for runners to join this unique event. You can find out more information about the impact of our work and the marathon here.
The race started at an altitude of 3,000m in the country’s beautiful Bamian Province, in the centre of the country, which is home to stunning mountains and a lot of ancient history. The region is also home to the famous UNESCO listed Buddha niches, along with an associated cave network, plus the phenomenal Band-e-Amir lakes – an area which became Afghanistan’s first National Park.
The groundbreaking trip and event garnered international media attention (view here, here and here) and its story was also turned into a documentary called The Secret Marathon, wh
Due to the new government, the race is unable to be organised in the inclusive spirit it was founded and we’ve pressed pause on organising the event for now. We hope one day we will be able to run marathon trips again in Afghanistan and take part in this special race.
In the meantime, you can help support Afghan women and sport, by supporting the work of Free To Run. The organisation supports women and girls in conflict areas, by offering sports programmes to encourage empowerment and gender equality. We are proud to have supported the organisation in Afghanistan previously and still work with in Iraq.