At 7 A.M. local time, on Saturday morning, 70 athletes from 47 countries left Heroes' Square to run through the heart (and heat) of Budapest to compete for gold, silver, or bronze at the 2023 World Athletics Championships marathon. Hungary's Nora Szabo, the country's record holder in the event, fed off the supportive home crowd and led the pack down Andrassy Avenue with Japan's Rika Kaseda on her shoulder. Ethiopia's Amane Beriso Shankule overcame last year's champion Gotytom Gerbrelase to earn her first world championship title in 2:24.23.