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The London Marathon
In 1979,
hours after having run the New York Marathon, the former Olympic
champion Chris Brasher wrote an article for The Observer which
began: 'To believe this story you must believe that the human race
be one joyous family, working together, laughing together, achieving
the impossible.' Enchanted with the sight of people coming together
for such an occasion, he concluded questioning '..whether London
could stage such a festival?'
Within months the London Marathon was born, with
Brasher making trips to America to study the race organisation and
finance of big city marathons such as New York and Boston, the
oldest in the world. He secured a contract with Gillette of £50,000,
established the organisation's charitable status, and set down six
main aims for the event, which he not only hoped would echo the
scenes he had witnessed in New York, but also put Britain firmly on
the map as a country capable of organising major events.
His vision was realised on March 29th 1981, with the
inaugural London Marathon proving an instant success. More than
20,000 people applied to run: 7,747 were accepted and 6,255 crossed
the finish line on Constitution Hill as cheering crowds lined the
route.
This year on April 23rd over 35,000 will run raising
many millions for charities.
Kenyan Martin Lel, winner of the
2005 Marathon in a time of 2h 7m 26s
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