20,000 ready for the road
26 facts about marathons ahead of big dublin event this weekend
AN incredible 20,000 runners will pound the streets this weekend for the Airtricity Dublin Marathon.
The 39th annual event will take place on Sunday and will pay special recognition to female participants – with revolutionary figure Constance Markievicz appearing on finishers’ medals.
The number of women taking part has grown massively over the years from 70 in 1980 to 7,000 in 2018.
Many international elite distance athletes are set to compete in this year’s race against some of Ireland’s top athletes including Olympians Lizzie Lee, Caitriona Jennings, Mick Clohisey and current national champion Gary O’hanlon.
To celebrate this year’s event and to remind athletes of the gruelling 26.2miles they have ahead of them, here’s 26 facts about marathons before the big day.
1 Each runner and walker competing in this year’s Dublin City Marathon will have to complete 26.219miles or 42.1km.
2 The first Olympic marathon was held in Greece in 1896 and had just 17 competitors who ran from Marathon Bridge to Olympic stadium.
3 The first ever winner of a marathon was Spiridon Louis.
4 The first marathon measured 24.8 miles in 1886 and was increased to 26.2 in 1921.
5 Female athlete Joan Benoit became the first woman to win a marathon in Los Angeles in 1984.
6 The world’s oldest female to complete a marathon was Gladys Burrill aged 92.
7 A Belgian runner named Stefan Engels ran a marathon every day for an entire year in 2011.
8 Boris Fyodorov ran the coldest marathon from Tomtor to Oymyakon in Russia in -38C.
9 It’s estimated one in 50,000 people taking part in a marathon will suffer a heart attack.
10 The first prize in the world-famous Boston Marathon is a Mercedez Benz and $60,000.
11 It’s estimated the average person training for a marathon over a 22-week plan will notch up 600 miles.
12 An elite runner will run an average 100 miles a week in preparation for the big event.
13 A distance of 26.2miles is roughly 504 times the size of a standard football field.
14 A person weighing 150lbs will burn around 2,600 calories during a marathon.
15 The world’s most picturesque marathon is in Cape Town, South Africa, and it’s called the Two Oceans.
16 In 1977 an eight-year-old ran the NYC marathon in an incredible three hours.
17 The average time of a female marathon runner is just under five hours at 4:59:28.
18 Many famous celebrities have taken part in marathons including Gordon Ramsay, George Bush, Katie Holmes and Ryan Reynolds.
19 The Walt Disney Marathon is said to be the most fun run to do with the route taking participants through Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and the Hollywood Studios.
20 The Boston Marathon is the oldest one held annually in the world and dates back to 1897.
21 There is a marathon in Wales in which participants race against horses.
22 There is a marathon in France which involves runners consuming wine along the route and has
22 refreshment stands and gourmet food on offer.
23 The New York Marathon is the largest in the world with roughly 45,000 runners crossing the finish line each year.
24 Astronaut Sunita Williams ran 26.2miles while on board an international space station in a very fast four hours and 24 minutes.
25 The record for the slowest marathon ever ran was by charity fundraiser Lloyd Scott who wore a 110lb diving suit. It took him five days and eight hours to complete.
26 One of the toughest marathons in the world is the Jungfrau Marathon in Switzerland and involves runners climbing close to 6,000ft.