[5] Hein and Fischer worked with local counterparts,[6] establishing a running group,[7][1] which organised the first marathon with support from the Palestine Olympic Committee (POC).

[13] The fact that the race was held in Bethlehem, which is located within Area A of the West Bank, meant that Israeli citizens could not legally participate.

[17] Runners from Gaza, including Nader al-Masri, were once again refused travel permits for the event by Israeli authorities.

[19] Despite greater security concerns to the prior year, including a reported threat alleging that Hamas would target the event,[7] at least two Israeli citizens illegally entered Area A in order to participate in the marathon.

[5] The 2015 Palestine Marathon took place on 27 March following the same route as the two previous years starting from Manger Square.

[20] Although they initially had concerns that international attendance would drop off due to the 2014 Gaza War, a total of 3093 participants in the event - the highest yet.

[21] 49 nationalities were present, and a number of members of the Danish parliament participated, including Stine Brix, Pernille Skipper, Jens Joel and Liv Holm Andersen.

[21] Prominent representatives for the event included Palestinian women Eitedal Ismail, the Director General of the Higher Council of Youth & Sports for the State of Palestine, and Vera Baboun, the first female Mayor of Bethlehem.

[27] The number of registered female participants reached 50% of registrations for the first time in the Palestine Marathon's history[28] - far above the global average of 30%.

However, he was criticized by the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement because he had performed a gig in Tel Aviv the day prior to the event.