The history of the London Marathon
Here's a brief guide to the history of the London Marathon.
Date published: 20th Apr 2023
This weekend will see the London Marathon take place again on Sunday 23rd April and it'll see thousands of people take to the streets for all different kinds of reasons but usually for brilliant charity causes. Whether it be people trying to smash personal bests, actual athletes or people dressed in costume just wanting to have a good time, all kinds of people race.
The first-ever London Marathon was on the 29th March 1981, initially inspired by the popular New York City Marathon, which was started 11 years prior. Initially, due to safety reasons, there were 7,741 runners who took part in the first event, with American Dick Beardsley and Norweigan Inge Simonsen crossing the line first together.
Joyce Smith was the first winner of the women's race and in 1983 the first wheelchair races were added to the event. The capacity of runners has since increased dramatically and you can now expect to see an average of about 45,000 runners taking part.
When you look at the map for this year's course, you'll see that it is absolutely massive. It is 26.2 miles long, which means that the runners and viewers at home will get a chance to see pretty much all of London's famous landmarks. From the London Eye to Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge, it is definitely the scenic route.
Even if you're running for fun here, you have to take on a gruelling training schedule to make sure that you can get around the course in time before everything gets packed up and the cars are allowed to roam the streets again. It's an incredible physical challenge that challenges those at all levels of experience.
In 21st Century history, the marathon has been blessed by some record-breaking performances. In 2002 the USA's Khalid Khannouchi set the only-ever men's marathon world record in London with a time of 2:05:38. British runner Paula Radcliffe also set a world record in 2005 with a time of 2:17:42.
When you're watching the race on the TV this weekend, you'll be watching the runners be a part of a bit of history and a proud part of London tradition. It's all for a good cause, so if you're in the city line the streets to cheer them on.
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