BAGHDAD — Naji Abdulamir used to run all over Baghdad but preferred the farmlands along the banks of the Tigris. Karim Aboud once ran for Saddam Hussein and has the gold watch and the newspaper clippings to prove it. Falih Naji ran for Iraq at a competition in India in 1982, and recalled, “There was no higher honor than representing your country.”

The three men — now in their 60s, elder statesmen of Iraq’s tiny running community — were awash in memories last week ahead of the Baghdad International Marathon, the first in as long as anyone could remember.

In fact, the race was not a marathon at all. Rather than the standard 26.2 miles, Baghdad’s version was a road race that allowed participants their choice of a lesser distance: two, four, eight or 10 kilometers.

That mattered little.

“I feel like a kid on Eid,” said Mr. Abdulamir, a running coach and former star of the Iraqi national team.