Marathons - are they all Greek to you?

The Marathon is a long-distance foot race of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards) that is usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon (the namesake of the race) to Athens, although the historical accuracy of this legend is in doubt.)

Annually, more than 800 marathons are organized worldwide.

Five of the largest and most prestigious races are run in Boston, New York City, Chicago, London, and Berlin,

The next top 5 take place in Amsterdam, Honolulu, Paris, Rotterdam, and Stockholm. Other notable large marathons include the United States Marine Corps Marathon, Los Angeles, and Rome. The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, inspired by the success of the 1896 Olympic marathon and held since 1897. The oldest annual marathon in Europe is the Košice Peace Marathon, held since 1924 in Košice, Slovakia.

At 9am on April 18^th 2010, Brighton hosts its very first Marathon in which over 10,000 runners will participate. Eventually Brighton – or London by the sea - hopes to be a contender for inclusion on the map of revered courses.

Brighton’s planned route around the city and along the coast will be generally fast and reasonably flat. The organisers have worked hard with the city council to come up with an event that tours much of the city of Brighton & Hove, taking in glorious coastal views, whilst aiming to keep disruption to a minimum.

The demand for places was so extreme, they sold out In record time leaving thousands of other would-be marathon runners still in the starting blocks. It’s a sure sign the event will be a hit within the City and further afield, as entrants from as far away as Australia and Thailand demonstrate.

Matt’s Canaan Trust is delighted to have secured 5 Premier places, and is looking for runners to join us for what promises to be a stunning and exciting inaugural Brighton Marathon.

Information – courtesy of Wikipedia and The official Brighton Marathon website: www.brightonmarathon.co.uk where the course and more details can be viewed.