Bucket-list Marathons

Hi readers! In our previous edition we covered the Chicago,the New York city marathon and the Boston marathon.

 

Here are a few more runs you can add to your bucket list of some memorable ones.

 

THE GREAT WALL MARATHON

 

If tradional races races bore you, the Great Wall Marathon will will satisfy your wanderlust as long as you leave any personal best ambitions back home.It is an annual usually held in the third Saturday of May along HHuangya Pass, Tianjin section of the Great Wall of China.Since its start in 1999, the race has grown to several hundred participants. It is a locally organised race offering a full selection of runs including a full marathon, a half marathon , 10k and 5k distances. Even the fittest will huff when trekking up thousand of steep and sometimes broken steps of stone. The lush green landscapes will crave for your attention but stay alert because the aggressive ascents and descents are startingly close to the village and the streets are open to traffic at all times.

 

ATHENS MARATHON

 

This is where it all began with Phidippides, the legend who was the first to cover 26.2 miles on foot.The journey begins as Phidippides did on foot and climbs roughly 350 feet towards Athens finishing at the epic Panathinaiko stadium, the site of the first modern Olympic games  in 1896. This is held in the 2nd sunday of November.It also serves as Greece’s national marathon championships. The race attracted 43000 competitors in 2015. Pheidippides  is said to have run from Marathon to Athens to bring news of the Greek victory over the Persians at the battle of Marathon.The race features the marathon flame which is lit at the tomb of the battle of Marathon and carried to the stadium of Marathon at the beginning of the race.An international marathon symposium is held a day before the race. The current course record is held by Felix Candie in 2014  (2hrs10min 37 seconds ) in the mens category while Rasa Drazdauskaite holds the fastest run in the womens category(2:31:06) in 2010. 

 

LONDON MARATHON

 

The huge field welcoming  crowd and party atmosphere makes this race less intimidating for freshers and the fast point to point  course makes it an eager run for personal best timings for the veterans.It is annual event held in London, founded by Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1961.It was originally held in April but has now moved to October. The flat course is set around the river Thames. 

The race has several components; it has a mass race for the public, professional races for men and women long distance runners, a 3 mile mini marathon event for under 17 athletes. There is a significant charity running aspect to the marathon, with participants helping to raise 1 billion pound Sterling since its inception including 66 million pound at the 2019 London Marathon which was the highest amount for single day fund raising event.

 

There are no shortages of of marathons around the world to run, but there are certain races that captivate, making runners amenable to enduring minor obstacles such as entries, lottery long distance travels or crazy elevations to toe the starting lines of these events again and again. 

One or more of these events is sure to grace the bucket list of every distance runner.