it was organised in 1990 by dmitri khodko and sergei govrilov as an attempt to open omsk to foreigners. the foreign participation was headed by claude fisicaro, an australian living in london, through a running club called world runners, who ran in aid of ending hunger. later directors of the los angeles marathon and the new york city marathon actively participated in the early 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, and a kenyan marathon runner who due to flight difficulty arrived the morning of the marathon. since the early 1990s, the marathon has attracted thousands of participants (and many foreigners) each year and the number is growing annually.