Siberian International Marathon

Siberian International Marathon (SIM) has been held in the city of Omsk since 1990, when the city was first opened to foreigners. The summer marathon is part of the City Days festivities. It takes place during the week of St. Ilya's Day, the patron saint of Omsk, in early August. The marathon itself takes place during the first Saturday of August. The winter half-marathon is during the January 7 Orthodox Christmas week. It was organised in 1990 by Dmitri Khodko and Sergei Govrilov as an attempt to open Omsk to foreigners.

Directors of the Los Angeles Marathon and the New York City Marathon actively participated in the first few years of the Siberian International Marathon. The first marathon was attended by 1800 athletes, including 32 foreigners from 9 countries one of which was British MP John Austin-Walker. Since the early 90's, the marathon has attracted thousands of participants (and many foreigners) each year and the number is growing annually.