Die London marathon

Sondag, op St George's Day, word die London marathon gehardloop.

Dit sal die 26ste marathon wees. Die marathon se webtuiste vertel die storie soos volg:

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. Last Sunday, in one of the most trouble-stricken cities in the world, 11,532 men and women from 40 countries in the world, assisted by over a million black, white and yellow people, laughed, cheered and suffered during the greatest folk festival the world has seen." 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. Now at capacity, a total of 46,500 were accepted from a record 80,500 applicants, with 32,563 finishing on the day. Since this time the event has continued to grow in size, stature and popularity with a capacity 46,500 accepted entrants each year. In all, a total of 572,174 have completed the race since its inception with a record 32,899 crossing the line in 2002.

If anything, interest has been even greater for 2005 with a record 98,500 UK ballot applicants seeking places, a 20 percent increase over the previous highest figure.

Daar sal webcams wees wat dit afneem, jy kan daarna kyk by http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2006/04/20/marathon_webcams.shtml.

As jou vingers fikser as jy is, kan jy ook virtueel saamdraf by http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/sport/marathon/marathon_virtual_tour_feature.shtml. Die hele 26.2 myl is nou daar te sien!

En Pieter en Anca? Hardloop nie die marathon nie... erger, hulle trek!