The London Marathon is a popular road marathon which started in 1981. Since then it is held every year in the city of London, usually in April. The London Marathon was founded by the former Olympic champion and renowned journalist Chris Brasher and John Disley. London Marathon is currently sponsored by Flora.
In addition to being one of the top five international marathons run over the traditional distance of 42.195 km (26 miles and 385 yards), the London Marathon is also a large celebratory event. It is also a sporting festival, second only to the Great North Run in Newcastle, in terms of the number of participants.
London Marathon’s special feature is that the event raises large amounts of money for charity, and it is reported that it is much more than other marathons. According to the marathon organisers, London Marathon is now the largest annual fund raising event in the world with the 2006 participants raising over £41.5 million for charity, bringing the total amount raised for charity by runners, to a grand total of £315 million.
The Children's Trust, Tadworth is the official charity for 2009 London Marathon.
If you are supportng a friend or family member or just enjoying the day out plan ahead for the event. Information on London Marathon can be found on offical website Flora London Marathon.
Spots that you may like to avoid
If you want an unrestricted view, your best bet is to avoid the most popular spots.
Most popular spots include:
- Greenwich, and especially the area close to the Cutty Sark.
- Tower Bridge and the route east of the Bridge (East Smithfield) and west of the Bridge (Tower Hill.)
- Anywhere from mile 25 to the finish in The Mall. Although, many will be forced to end up in this area later on to rendezvous with runners at the meet-and-greet area in Horse Guards Road.
Road closures
- No event on this scale can go ahead without some disruption to the London’s transport system and, if you are determined to avoid race day, you may want to steer clear of the following roads:
- The route and approach roads in Greenwich and Woolwich, as well as Thames Street, Embankment, and Westminster Bridge, will be closed from 7am.
- Southwark, Tower Bridge, Isle of Dogs and Shadwell will close an hour later.
- The route will re-open in stages from 11am, and is scheduled to be fully reopened by 7pm.
Download a spectator information guide from here!
For details of the London Marathon visit: http://www.london-marathon.co.uk/
For travel planing visit: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
Images of Flora London Marathon 2009
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