The Athens Classic Marathon is an annual marathon road race held in Athens, Greece, normally in early November (the second Sunday of November), since 1972. It also often serves as Greece's national marathon championships. The race attracted 43,000 competitors in 2015 of which 16,000 were for the 42.195 kilometre (26.2 mile) course, both numbers being an all-time record for the event.Over 43,000 ran in the 33rd Authentic Athens Marathon on Sunday tovima.gr Retrieved on Monday, November 09, 2015. The rest of the runners competed in the concurrent 5 and 10 kilometres road races and the racewalking contest.

The marathon race and course is inspired by the Ancient Athenian army run from Marathon to Athens after the Battle of Marathon.

Taking from the tradition of the Olympic Torch, the race features the Marathon Flame, which is lit at the Tomb of the Battle of Marathon and carried to the stadium in Marathon before the beginning of each race.Butcher, Pat (2008-11-06). Marathon talks, in Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-08. In addition, an international marathon symposium is held the day before the race.

Greek competitors have traditionally been strong in the men's and women's competitions. However, East Africans and Japanese runners have increasingly become the dominant runners from 1999 onwards.Nikitaridis, Michalis (2005-11-06). Saina and Measo are victorious in the Athens Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-08. The current course records are 2:10:34 hours for men, set by Edwin Kiptoo in 2023, while Rasa Drazdauskaitė's run of 2:31:06 in 2010 is the quickest by a woman on the course.

History

The provenance of the competitive race is traced back to the Marathon race at the 1896 Olympics.Wenig, Jorg (2008-11-10). 2,500 years anniversary of the genesis of the marathon approaches. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.

A separate race from the town of Marathon to Athens was regularly held in April from 1955 to at least 1989. This unrelated race, known as the Athens Marathon, frequently served as the Greek championship race but it is now discontinued.Athens Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2008-08-18). Retrieved on 2009-11-08.

The Athens Classic Marathon began in 1972 as a joint venture between the Greek tourist board and athletics association.Kendal's own Athen's marathon winner. Westland Moore Gazette (2004-08-24). Retrieved on 2009-11-08.

In 1982, the organisers dedicated the race to Grigoris Lambrakis, an athlete and Member of the Greek Parliament, whose murder in the 1960s has become an inspirational cause for advocates of human rights.

The race came under the auspices of the current organisers and SEGAS in 1983 and has since become a major race, being awarded Gold Label Road Race status by the IAAF.Nikitaridis, Michalis (2007-11-02). Athens Classic Marathon celebrates 25th anniversary – PREVIEW. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.15 marathons awarded IAAF Gold Label Road Race certification for year 2011 . RunningSportsHub (2010-10-25). Retrieved on 2011-11-14. The 1983 event was known as the Athens Peace Marathon and both a popular and elite level race featured for the first time that year.

Since 1990, the Athens Classic Marathon has often served as the Greek national championships for the marathon event.National Marathon Champions for Greece. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2008-12-21). Retrieved on 2009-11-08.

Since 2007 the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races has organised an annual International Marathon Symposium in Marathon town the day prior to the race.

The 2010 edition of the event was combined with the celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon.Drazdauskaite and Bett beat the heat to make history in Athens. IAAF (2010-10-31). Retrieved on 2010-10-31. As the 2500 anniversary was actually in 2011, this year was also celebrated as the anniversary run.

In 2016, a refugee team competed in the concurrent 5 kilometre road race.

The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all registrants given the option of transferring their entry to 2021 or obtaining a full refund.

Course

The marathon course is based on the legend from which the race gained its name: Pheidippides, a messenger in Ancient Greece, who allegedly ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks' victory over the Persians.Panagopoulos, Kostas (2009). Editorial . Athens Classic Marathon. Retrieved on 2009-11-08.

It is perhaps the most difficult major marathon race: the course is uphill from the 10 km mark to the 31 km mark – the toughest uphill climb of any major marathon.Butcher, Pat (2008-11-09). Athens Marathon record broken by nearly two minutes. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-08. The course begins in the town of Marathon, where it passes the tomb of the Athenian soldiers, and it traces a path near the coast through Nea Makri. Following the steep rise, the course goes lightly downhill towards the city of Athens.Butcher, Pat (2009-11-08). Ngetich, Ozaki prevail in ‘Battle of Marathon’ – Athens Marathon report. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-08. It passes a statue of a runner (Ο Δρομέας) in the city centre before finishing up at the Panathinaiko Stadium;Nikitaridis, Michalis (2006-11-05). Tarus and Ogushi secure Athens Classic Marathon victories. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-08. a site for athletics competitions in ancient times and the finishing point for both the 1896 and 2004 Olympic marathons.

Past winners

Key:

YearMen's winnerTime(h:m:s)Women's winnerTime(h:m:s)20242:18:562:40:2020232:10:342:31:5220222:23:442:46:0120212:16:492:41:30 2020 cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic20192:16:342:45:5020182:10:562:36:4620172:12:172:34:1820162:12:492:38:1320152:21:222:52:0620142:10:372:41:0620132:13:512:41:3220122:11:352:40:0020112:11:402:35:2520102:12:402:31:0620092:13:442:39:562008 2:12:42 2:36:582007 2:14:40 2:33:192006 2:17:46 2:40:452005 2:16:15 2:38:392004 2:15:28 2:41:112003 2:16:59 2:43:182002 2:18:20 2:37:292001 2:19:26 2:36:152000 2:20:50 2:53:001999 2:18:35 2:46:46 1998 2:18:38 2:50:52 1997 2:31:47 2:54:43 1996 2:33:15 2:56:421995 2:27:27 2:59:45 1994 2:27:27 3:21:321993 2:28:12 3:15:56 1992 2:31:15 3:05:241991 2:28:18 2:59:291990 2:26:33 2:59:15 1989 2:23:19 2:37:42 1988 2:17:33 2:50:59 1987 2:25:14 2:43:37 1986 2:27:22 3:06:58 1985 2:26:20 3:04:30 1984 2:28:53 2:58:30 1983 2:25:34 3:20:33 1982 2:27:29 3:07:41 1981 2:32:50 3:16:00 1980 2:34:32 3:17:07 1979 2:31:21 3:34:21 1978 2:27:224:47:00 1977 2:14:40.8 3:05:53 1976 2:33:50 3:35:45 1975 2:35:39 3:16:13 1974 2:13.50 3:55:56 19732:32:26No women's race 19722:26:26No women's race

Statistics

Winners by country CountryMen's raceWomen's raceTotal 14 9 23 15 5 20 1 6 7 1 6 7 1 4 5 3 1 4 0 3 3 0 3 3 1 2 3 2 0 2 1 1 2 2 1 3 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1

Multiple winners AthleteCountryWinsYearsTeofanis Tsimingatos21974, 1975Christos Dumas21992, 1994Nikolaos Polias41993, 1995, 1998, 2000Panagiota Petropoulou21993, 1996Sonja Oberem22001, 2002Raymond Bett22010, 2012

Attendance

No.Year42 km. registrations42 km. finishersathensauthenticmarathon.gr ATHENS MARATHON. THE AUTHENTIC - RESULTSTotal registrations20th 2002 ? 1.779 ?21st 2003 ? 2.676 ?22nd 2004 ? 2.868 ?23rd 2005 ? 2.559 ?24th 2006 3.073 2.626 ?25th 2007 ? 3.438 7.00026th 2008 ? 3.846 10.00027th 2009 ? 3.855 ?28th 2010 ? 10.371 20.00029th 2011 9.000 6.144 17.50030th 2012 9.500 6.470 26.00031st 2013 ? 8.500 31.00032nd 2014 13.000 10.480 35.00033rd 2015 16.000 11.886 43.00034th 2016 18.000 13.707 50.00035th 2017 18.500 14.743 51.00036th 2018 ? 15.279 55.000

References General Athens Classic Marathon. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2008-11-27). Retrieved on 2009-11-08.

Specific

External links Official website Official Merchandise Marathon Course Profile