RAMALLAH, West Bank — Five years into its launch, the Palestine Marathon has been officially recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Oct. 13. The move came after Etidal Abdelghani, the director general of the marathon, received an official certificate of recognition from the IAAF, in what has been deemed as an international sporting achievement.

Abdelghani told Al-Monitor that this recognition is the culmination of five years of continuous work aimed at organizing the marathon in line with international standards. The recognition came after Norrie Williamson, a representative of IAAF, visited Bethlehem on Sept. 22.

The first marathon took place in April 2013 in the city of Bethlehem with the participation of 213 Palestinian and 218 foreigners from 21 countries; it was organized to protest against the checkpoints and call for the freedom of movement in the West Bank.

The number of people who registered to run in the 2017 Palestine Marathon amounted to 10,000 local and 6,200 foreign participants. This number is expected to increase for the 2018 marathon, scheduled for March 23.