subject: London Marathon [print this page] The London Marathon is a footrace held in London every year, usually in April, and is run over a distance of 42.195 kilometers or 26 miles and 385 yards. Founded by journalist Chris Brasher, a former Olympic champion, with the influence of a similar marathon in New York, the race offers large cash prizes to winning participants and attracts name athletes from around the world. Along the route, it draws crowds of more than half a million, making it as the most popular race event in the United Kingdom, and one of the biggest fund-raising events of every year. Since 1981, more than 800,000 runners, some of whom come from many parts of the world, have finished the marathon. In recent years, runners from 50 countries joined the competition to make it virtually as an international event.
Quick Facts about the Marathon. The footrace is currently organized by David Bedford, a former 10,000-meter world record holder. Each marathon event practically transforms the city of London into a massive track circuit for runners of all types and levels of ability. In 2006, Sir Steven Redgrave, who is holder of five consecutive Olympic Gold Medal wins for rowing set a new record in the Guinness Book of Records for the biggest money raised for the marathon, to eclipse the record set by Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis Trust, a United Kingdom-based Christian charity group, during the previous year. A participant is required to pay 100 sterling as registration fee and raise at least 1,500 sterling for the race. Marathon winners receive trophies and cash prizes of US$50,000 each for the male and female first place finishers, US$30,000 each for the second placers, and US$22,500 each for the third place finishers.
Race Course. The marathon starts at three separate points around Blackheath, an affluent suburb of London that is 115 feet above sea level on the south of River Thames. The runners then converge in Woolwich, passing by the Royal Artillery barracks before descending to 35 feet after half a mile. After running five miles and a half, they go around the Cutty Sark, a clipper ship built in 1869, in Greenwich towards Jamaica Road and the Tower Bridge in 12 miles. Crossing the Thames River, the runners, usually numbering 30,000, turn east along The Highway, an ancient thoroughfare, through Wapping, a place between the Thames River bank and The Highway to the former island of the Isle of Dogs before returning to The Highway passing by the Tower of London. From that point, the runners now follow the Thames River along the embankment up to the Houses of Parliament, and then turn to the St. Peters Park and Buckingham Palace to head to the finish line at The Mall, the entrance road to the Palace. If you are a participant, you will have the chance to see some of Londons famous landmarks along the race route such as the London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel on the bank of River Thames, the Tower of London, Big Ben, a great bell of a clock, and the HMS Belfast, a museum ship permanently moored in the River Thames.
Best Places to Watch the Runners. If you are in London and want to watch the runners, you must know the areas that may give you a vantage position. Know the race starting point, its halfway mark, an area for great photo opportunities, or for taking a view of the runners on the final stretch, and the finish line where you can see the exhausted but exultant runners finishing the grueling race.
