London Marathon

The London Marathon is run over the traditional distance of 26 miles and 385 yards in London, but it is not a conventional marathon. It was intended to be, and has become, a huge sporting festival and celebration.

Its architect and founder was Chris Brasher, a former Olympic steeplechase champion and a celebrated sports journalist, who was inspired by the New York Marathon. He wanted to establish a marathon that was different, in effect a "people's marathon". Certainly the response of the competing and spectating public has fulfilled this dream. Applications for entries always heavily exceed the places available, with the numbers actually being permitted to run now exceeding 40,000, making it the largest marathon field in the world. Equally, the preparedness of spectators to line the route all the way from Charlton Park, paste the Cutty Sark and over Tower Bridge, through the Docklands and East End, and back through the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace and the finish in The Mall is ever-increasing.

Since its inception in 1981, the formula for the race has remained much the same, although the picturesque finish on Westminster Bridge has been replaced by the grandeur of The Mall, and the scale of entries has meant that separate starts are required for elite men, elite women, wheel-chaired competitors, and the general running enthusiast. The all-inclusive nature of the London Marathon is reflected by the deliberate inclusion of every type of athlete from the wheel-chaired to the elite to the veteran, some of whom have exceeded eighty years of age. However, it is also a marathon with a wider mission because it actively encourages the participation of sponsored runners who represent good causes, such as Terry Kavanagh of Havering, who has raised £14,000 for the Parkinson's Disease Society, whilst being himself a sufferer of that condition. Literally millions of pounds [1] have been raised by individuals and surpluses from the Marathon's own fee, and sponsorship income is distributed to recreational schemes through the London Marathon Charitable Trust. This is how Chris Brasher's aim of a "people's marathon" is being fulfilled.

Nevertheless, the London Marathon is a serious race for most and its record times - 2:05:38 for men, set by Khalid Khannouchi of the USA in 2000, and 2:15:24 for women, set by Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain in 2003 - show that it is highly competitive and a potentially fast course.

Whilst it is a serious athletic event, with large prize money attracting elite athletes, public perception of the race is dominated by the 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.

The first London Marathon was held on March 19 1981. 7,747 athletes started that race, and 6,255 finished. The event caught the mood of the public, and the next year race entries trebled.

Results:
Men's race

1981	Dick Beardsley USA & Inge Simonsen	NOR/USA	2:11:48
1982	Hugh Jones	GBR	2:09:24
1983	Mike Gratton	GBR	2:09:43
1984	Charlie Spedding	GBR	2:09:57
1985	Steve Jones	GBR	2:08:16
1986	Toshihiko Seko	JPN	2:10:02
1987	Hiromi Taniguchi	JPN	2:09:50
1988	Henrik Jørgensen	DEN	2:10:20
1989	Douglas Wakiihuri	KEN	2:09:03
1990	Allister Hutton	GBR	2:10:10
1991	Yakov Tolstikov	URS	2:09:17
1992	António Pinto	POR	2:10:02
1993	Eamonn Martin	GBR	2:10:50
1994	Dionicio Cerón	MEX	2:08:53
1995	Dionicio Cerón	MEX	2:08:30
1996	Dionicio Cerón	MEX	2:10:00
1997	António Pinto	POR	2:07:55
1998	Abel Antón	ESP	2:07:57
1999	Abdelkader El Mouaziz	MAR	2:07:57
2000	Antonio Pinto	POR	2:06:36
2001	Abdelkader El Mouaziz	MAR	2:07:09
2002	Khalid Khannouchi	US	2:05:38
2003	Gezahegne Abera	ETH	2:07:56

Women's Race

1981	Joyce Smith	GBR	2:29:57
1982	Joyce Smith	GBR	2:29:43
1983	Grete Waitz	NOR	2:25:29
1984	Ingrid Kristiansen	NOR	2:24:26
1985	Ingrid Kristiansen	NOR	2:21:06
1986	Grete Waitz	NOR	2:24:54
1987	Ingrid Kristiansen	NOR	2:22:48
1988	Ingrid Kristiansen	NOR	2:25:41
1989	Véronique Marot	GBR	2:25:56
1990	Wanda Panfil	POL	2:26:31
1991	Rosa Mota	POR	2:26:14
1992	Katrin Dörre	GER	2:29:39
1993	Katrin Dörre	GER	2:27:09
1994	Katrin Dörre	GER	2:32:34
1995	Malgorzata Sobanska	POL	2:27:43
1996	Liz McColgan	GBR	2:27:54
1997	Joyce Chepchumba	KEN	2:26:51
1998	Catherina McKiernan	IRL	2:26:26
1999	Joyce Chepchumba	KEN	2:23:22
2000	Tegla Laroupe	KEN	2:24:33
2001	Derartu Tulu	KEN	2:23:57
2002	Paula Radcliffe	GBR	2:18:56
2003	Paula Radcliffe	GBR	2:15:24 Women's World Record

Wheelchair Results not complete

Men's Wheelchair Race

2002	David Weir	GBR	1:39:44
2003	Joel Jeannot	FRA	1:32:02

Women's Wheelchair Race

1997	Tanni Grey-Thompson	GBR
1998	Tanni Grey-Thompson	GBR
1999	Tanni Grey-Thompson	GBR
2000	Tanni Grey-Thompson	GBR
2001	Tanni Grey-Thompson	GBR
2002	Tanni Grey-Thompson	GBR	2:22:51
2003	Francesca Porcellato	ITA	2:04:21

External links

• Official web page
• 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.
• Guide to entering the London Marathon