The 36th Athens Authentic Marathon Ends With Great Success
- by XpatAthens
- Monday, 12 November 2018
The 36th Athens Authentic Marathon was held with great success yesterday, November 11th. This year the race brought together more than 55,000 runners from 106 countries. The 42,195m race is more than just a sporting event, it’s a tribute to Greek history, human willpower, solidarity, friendship, and social responsibility. A total of 18,70 runners took part in the historic Marathon race, while thousands joined the 3 & 5 & 10 kilometer road races, the kids' fun runs, and the Special Olympics Hellas Fun Run.
It was a great day for Kenyan runners since both the mens and womens marathon races were won by Kenyan nationals. Brimin Kipkorir won the mens Marathon in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 56 seconds and Shelmith Muriuki of won the womens race in 2 hours, 36 minutes, 46 seconds.
The Marathon area is of great historical significance, as it was the site of the famous Marathon battle that took place in 490 BC. After the battle was won by the Greeks, a soldier named Pheidippides was sent to Athens to deliver the news. Pheidippides ran all the way to Athens and managed to say, "We have won," before he collapsed and died. That was the first marathon in history and to this day the runners of the Athens Authentic Marathon follow the exact same route.
'The legend continues. Each year the Athens Marathon gets better and better,' said Paco Borao, President of AIMS, the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, at the press conference for the 'Athens Marathon. The Authentic.'
The city of Athens looks forward to welcoming even more runners from around the world for the Athens Authentic Marathon in 2019!
Photo Credit: @chromecabrio
The city of Athens looks forward to welcoming even more runners from around the world for the Athens Authentic Marathon in 2019!
Photo Credit: @chromecabrio