London Marathon
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The London Marathon is a marathon race that has been held each year in London since 1981, usually in April. While it is run over the traditional distance of 42.195 km [26 miles and 385 yards], it is not the conventional marathon it was intended to be; it has become a large, celebratory sporting festival. It is the second largest marathon in the world in terms of participants. According to the race organisers, it is now the largest annual fund raising event in the world with the 2006 participants raising over £41.5million for charity, bringing the total amount raised for charity by runners since the race began back in 1981, to a grand total of £315 million.[1] The 2007 race will take place on the 22nd April.
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[edit] Description
The London Marathon was founded by former Olympic champion and renowned journalist Chris Brasher, who was influenced by the New York Marathon and aspired to establish a race of this scale. In the 1908 Olympics, the length of the course was 26 miles 385 yards to White City, thus setting the standard length of modern marathons ever since.
The London Marathon came into existence on March 29, 1981, when nearly 7,500 athletes participated in the race. By the 25th event the number of starters reached 35,680. Its popularity continues to grow, with over 96,000 UK citizens entering the ballot for a place in the 2007 race.[2] The scale of the event means it requires three separate starting points around Blackheath, with all the runners eventually converging in Woolwich.
The race is currently organised by former 10,000m world record holder David Bedford. Bedford has overseen a period of great change for the race, including amendments to the course in 2005 which saw the famous cobbled section by the Tower of London replaced with a flat stretch along the Highway.[3]
Whilst it is a serious athletic event, with large prize money attracting elite athletes, public perception of the race is dominated by club and fun runners. Sometimes in ludicrous fancy dress and often collecting money for charity, these make up the bulk of the 30,000+ runners and help to draw crowds of half a million on the streets.
On April 19, 2003, former boxer Michael Watson, who had been told he would never be able to walk again after a fight with Chris Eubank, made headlines by finishing the marathon in six days, becoming a national hero in England.
In the 2005 Marathon, founder of the Oasis Trust, Steve Chalke MBE, set a new Guiness World Record for the most money ever raised through a marathon by collecting over £1.25 million in sponsorship.
The 2006 London Marathon was held on 23 April ([1], [2], [3], [4], [5]), which was also St George's Day (St. George is the patron saint of England).
[edit] Results
Run over a largely flat course around the River Thames, the London Marathon is generally regarded as a very competitive and unpredictable event, and conducive to fast times. The record times are shown in bold below and also highlighted in the history tables:
- 2:05:38 for men (Khalid Khannouchi, USA) in 2002 and
- 2:15:25 for women (Paula Radcliffe, UK) in 2003.
[edit] Men's race
| Year | Athlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Inge Simonsen & Dick Beardsley |  &  |
2:11:48 (dead heat) |
| 1982 | Hugh Jones |  |
2:09:24 |
| 1983 | Mike Gratton | |
2:09:43 |
| 1984 | Charles Spedding | |
2:09:57 |
| 1985 | Steve Jones | |
2:08:16 |
| 1986 | Toshihiko Seko |  |
2:10:02 |
| 1987 | Hiromi Taniguchi | |
2:09:50 |
| 1988 | Henrik Jørgensen |  |
2:10:20 |
| 1989 | Douglas Wakiihuri |  |
2:09:03 |
| 1990 | Allister Hutton | |
2:10:10 |
| 1991 | Yakov Tolstikov |  |
2:09:17 |
| 1992 | António Pinto |  |
2:10:02 |
| 1993 | Eamonn Martin | |
2:10:50 |
| 1994 | Dionicio Cerón |  |
2:08:53 |
| 1995 | Dionicio Cerón | |
2:08:30 |
| 1996 | Dionicio Cerón | |
2:10:00 |
| 1997 | António Pinto | |
2:07:55 |
| 1998 | Abel Antón |  |
2:07:57 |
| 1999 | Abdelkader El Mouaziz |  |
2:07:57 |
| 2000 | António Pinto | |
2:06:36 |
| 2001 | Abdelkader El Mouaziz | |
2:07:09 |
| 2002 | Khalid Khannouchi | |
2:05:38 (Men's World Record) |
| 2003 | Gezahegne Abera |  |
2:07:56 |
| 2004 | Evans Rutto | |
2:06:18 |
| 2005 | Martin Lel | |
2:07:35 |
| 2006 | Felix Limo | |
2:06:39 |
[edit] Women's race
| Year | Athlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Joyce Smith | |
2:29:57 |
| 1982 | Joyce Smith | |
2:29:43 |
| 1983 | Grete Waitz | |
2:25:29 |
| 1984 | Ingrid Kristiansen | |
2:24:26 |
| 1985 | Ingrid Kristiansen | |
2:21:06 |
| 1986 | Grete Waitz | |
2:24:54 |
| 1987 | Ingrid Kristiansen | |
2:22:48 |
| 1988 | Ingrid Kristiansen | |
2:25:41 |
| 1989 | Véronique Marot | |
2:25:56 |
| 1990 | Wanda Panfil |  |
2:26:31 |
| 1991 | Rosa Mota | |
2:26:14 |
| 1992 | Katrin Dörre |  |
2:29:39 |
| 1993 | Katrin Dörre | |
2:27:09 |
| 1994 | Katrin Dörre | |
2:32:34 |
| 1995 | Małgorzata Sobańska | |
2:27:43 |
| 1996 | Liz McColgan | |
2:27:54 |
| 1997 | Joyce Chepchumba | |
2:26:51 |
| 1998 | Catherina McKiernan |  |
2:26:26 |
| 1999 | Joyce Chepchumba | |
2:23:22 |
| 2000 | Tegla Laroupe | |
2:24:33 |
| 2001 | Derartu Tulu | |
2:23:57 |
| 2002 | Paula Radcliffe | |
2:18:56 |
| 2003 | Paula Radcliffe | |
2:15:25 (Women's World Record) |
| 2004 | Margaret Okayo | |
2:22:35 |
| 2005 | Paula Radcliffe | |
2:17:42 (Women Only World Best) |
| 2006 | Deena Kastor | |
2:19:35 |
[edit] Men's wheelchair race
| Year | Athlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | David Weir | |
1:39:44 |
| 2003 | Joel Jeannot |  |
1:32:02 |
| 2004 | Saúl Mendoza | |
|
| 2005 | Saúl Mendoza | |
1:35:51 |
| 2006 | David Weir | |
1:29:48 |
[edit] Women's wheelchair race
| Year | Athlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Tanni Grey-Thompson | |
|
| 1998 | Tanni Grey-Thompson | |
|
| 1999 | Tanni Grey-Thompson | |
|
| 2000 | Sarah Piercy | |
2:23:30 |
| 2001 | Tanni Grey-Thompson | |
|
| 2002 | Tanni Grey-Thompson | |
2:22:51 |
| 2003 | Francesca Porcellato |  |
2:04:21 |
| 2004 | Francesca Porcellato | |
2:05:00 |
| 2005 | Francesca Porcellato | |
1:57:00 |
| 2006 | Francesca Porcellato | |
1:59:57 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links relating to running
[edit] External links relating to charities
- Fundraising service for London Marathon runners to build online sponsorship pages The London Marathon is the UK's single biggest one day charity fundraiser. Over £31 million pounds was raised for charity in 2002.
