8. Tusnad Marathon Interview

You are organizing the 8. Tusnad Marathon on June 4th 2016. More information and registration to the race here. Can you describe briefly what makes your event unique? Why should runners participate in it?

23 km road race in Transylvania, in Seklerland with 900m level difference. Start is from the smallest city of the European Union: Baile Tusnad (Tusnádfürdő), and the finish is by the shores of the only vulcanic lake of Central-Europe, the Lake Saint Ann. The race can be run indivually or in relay (teams of 2 or 3 runners). And we also organise hiking tours for those who don’t want to run.

Seklerland is a historic and ethnographic area in Romania where Seklers (Székelys), a subgroup of Hungarian people, live. They live in the valleys and hills of the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, where the race itself takes place as well.

For those runners who are seeking for the hidden treasures, who like to discover new places, and addicted to the beautiful landscape this race is simply mandatory. :)

How is the scenery? 

In one world: beautiful. You start from the city centre of Baile Tusnad, but as it is a small town, (the smallest one in the EU) after 1 km, you already leave it behind you and running between mountains, and hills with pine trees. The first 5 km is on a main road, but it is closed during the race, and when you reach the neighbouring village, Bixad you leave the main road and continue your run on a side road all the way long up to the lake. Most of the level difference of 900 meters starts now and you will run most of the time now within a pine forest. Around 20th km you reach the high ground where you will see an astonishingly beautiful panorama where you can take a look at other mountains of the Eastern Carpathians. After reaching the crater of the ex-Vulcan the road will turn to downhill. So be aware that your last km, will be on a steep downhill, where you will be able to rush easily to the shore of the Lake Saint Ann, where the finish is.

What about the event have participants especially liked?   

The friendly atmosphere and the astonishing landscape. If the weather is good (last 3years it was) many runners go to have a cooling bath into the lake as well after the race, this is also really popular. 

In 2015 the t-shirt and the medal which every finishers received was really popular with the new mascot figure, with the running bear.

Where is your event located and how are runners able to travel there easily?    

Tusnad Marathon is half way between Bucharest and Targu Mures. Both cities have international airports, and we organise direct buses from the airports to the starting area for international runners. So basically you can come by plane, and then take our buses. Or if you prefer the more adventurous way than you can come by train as well. Both cities have direct train connections with Baile Tusnad.

How many runners do you expect to have in your event?    

500 hundred. A friendly race looking both its size and the organisers as well, in the country side which is still not a trail race, it stays all the way along on asphalt.

When was your event arranged for the first time?    

2009, so the next edtiion in 2016 will be already the 8th. Actually this race is one of the oldest one organised in Romania, where the so called running boom has arrived only in recent years.

Why was your event created in the first place and how has it changed over the years?

The race was originally organised by a sports man, who grew up in Seklerland, and who wanted to show to the people how beautiful his original homeland is. Each year around 130-170 people from Romania, and Hungary decided to run the 23 km. 

In the beginning of 2015 a new person, having many years of experience in the field of sport marketing (specialised in running events) joined the team. The race got a new image, new website and more advertisement even outside of Romania and Hungary. Thanks to that the number of registrations doubled to 326, and the organisers are expecting the same extant increase in numbers supplemented with international runners as well. 

What kind of weather conditions should runners expect to face in your event?    

Average temperature in June is 21 Celsius during the day and 8 Celsius during the night.

What else should runners do in the city after/before the race?    

Countless options for hiking in the area, Thermal bath within Baile Tusnad (perfect relaxation after the race). We also organise a lot of extra programs for tourist. You can visit the Dracula castle or the Murder Lake with us, or join one of our cart tour and picnic with Pálinka tasting, or come to a jeep tour to the mountains with us. All depends on your taste.

Anything else you want to tell about your event?    

Actually we are in love with the area, with the Sekler people and with the race, and this is what we would like to share and show to more and more runners from all around the World. We believe that the massive increase of participants will continue in 2016, and we think that also there will be a break through with the international runners as well. Last time we had runners from Turkey and from Belgium already, but in 2016 we are expecting runners from many-many more countries.

More information and registration to the race

Visit Tusnas Marathon's official website here

Link to the 2015 Tusnad Marathon video