Skopje Marathon draws a record 15,040 runners - bigger than Belgrade, Sofia and Zagreb

The Skopje Marathon wrapped up its 22nd edition with a record 15,040 participants from 63 countries. That puts Skopje ahead of Belgrade with 14,000 runners, Sofia with 12,000 and Zagreb with 5,100. In the region, according to the organisers' comparison, only the Ljubljana Marathon has more, with 22,500 entrants.

It has been a long road. The race was revived in 2007 on the initiative of then EU ambassador Erwan Fouéré and then mayor Trifun Kostovski, when around 700 people signed up. Today women make up 52 percent of the runners, although men still dominate the longer distances - 72 percent in the marathon and 60 percent in the half marathon.

Behind the numbers are stories. Runner Miljana Ristić ran the 5K in the ninth month of her pregnancy and gave birth two weeks later. The oldest marathon runner was 78. The race was run by 620 volunteers, 80 percent of them young women, and there were refreshment stations every 800 metres instead of every 2.5 kilometres as at many other marathons.

The next step, the organisers say, is for running to stay in the city after race day - through local races, training sessions and clubs. For that, Skopje will need safe places to exercise in every neighbourhood, not just one closed-off boulevard once a year.