Records and tens of thousands of runners aren’t the only things making the 40th SPAR Budapest Marathon Festival unforgettable—quirky athletes will, too. The field includes participants taking on unusual challenges and runners in eye-catching costumes, all contributing to the unique atmosphere of the biggest marathon in Hungarian history.

Superhuman effort for adoption

One of the field’s most ambitious undertakings comes from Tibor Borbás, a professional firefighter from Szombathely. To raise awareness of the importance of adoption, he will run the full marathon wearing 15 kilograms of firefighting protective gear and carrying a breathing apparatus on his back. Running with extra weight is not new to him, but this distance is twice as long as his previous half marathon in similar gear.

Although Tibor is an experienced ultrarunner who has completed the Spartathlon (246 km), this challenge is extraordinary even for him. The biggest difficulty isn’t the extra load but the unventilated suit, which can cause him to lose up to one kilogram of body weight per hour. While his usual marathon time is around 3 hours 20 minutes, he now expects to finish in about 5 hours. He is running in support of the Gólyafészek Children’s Home. “Many people are afraid of adoption, but there’s nothing to fear. We love all four of our daughters just the same—there’s no difference,” emphasizes Tibor, who adopted his fourth child in 2021.

The colors of the field: Flag, Rubik’s Cube, and tuba

Some runners can be recognized from afar, and their presence has almost become a trademark of the Budapest Marathon.

István Ferge from Mezőcsát has been running for over a decade with a unique idea: he completes marathons carrying a Hungarian flag on a nearly 1.5-kilogram pole, and in recent years he’s even carried a second flag in his other hand. In 12 years, he has completed 51 marathons with the flags in 26 countries. “Why do I do it? Because so many people applaud and acknowledge me, and it feels good. From about halfway my whole upper body locks up, but even so, I don’t want to put the poles down,” says the 43-year-old athlete, who also runs for charitable causes and aims to reach 100 marathons.

István Kocza, the “running ambassador” of the Rubik’s Cube, is another fixture of the race. The internationally renowned speedcuber decided in 2007—on the occasion of the Rubik’s Cube World Championship in Budapest—to run in costume, and since then he has donned the 4-kilogram outfit every year. This will be his 18th “cube run.” “The costume’s weight is not a problem, but the wind can make running difficult. I receive a lot of positive feedback, but the real joy is that I can motivate my fellow runners,” says the athlete from Jászberény, who wears the costume exclusively at the SPAR Budapest Marathon.

The fusion of music and sport is embodied by Liszt Ferenc Prize-winning tuba player József Bazsinka, who will complete the half-marathon distance with his instrument in hand—playing as he goes. For the artist, who runs several times a week, sport is a way to maintain professional endurance. “I run for an hour four or five times a week; for me, it’s a breathing exercise. That’s why it’s not hard to play the tuba,” he explains, adding that a full marathon would be too uncomfortable because of carrying the instrument, but a bit over 20 kilometers is still ideal.

Though they run for different reasons—for a noble cause, for the crowd’s appreciation, to inspire others, or simply out of passion—these four exceptional athletes prove that the marathon is more than a sport. It’s a celebration where the many forms of perseverance are on display, and where every step tells a personal story.