The London Marathon – the largest annual charity event in the world!

It’s true, the London Marathon has now grown to be the largest annual charity event in the world, raising more money for charities than any other annual event, and you can be involved! Whether you’re interested in running in the London Marathon or you want to go along and cheer on the runners, this is a family fun event that makes for a great day out. The 2010 London Marathon takes place on Sunday 25 April.

What is the London Marathon?

The London Marathon is one of the world’s major annual marathon events and is part of what’s called the World Marathon Majors, along with New York, Boston, Chicago, and Berlin. But the London Marathon is a bit different to these other majors because it’s developed into an event that raises millions of pounds for charity, and, rather than just being a serious sporting event it’s something that the whole family can enjoy. It’s run by complete amateurs as well as the professional athletes who are running for the crown of London Marathon winner, plus a large sum of prize money!

The London Marathon may be the biggest marathon in terms of charity money raised, but it’s by no means the oldest annual marathon; Boston has earned that title as the first Boston Marathon was held back in 1897. It was both the Boston Marathon and the New York Marathon that inspired former Olympic champion Chris Brasher to start up the London Marathon. He ran in the 1979 New York Marathon where he saw the potential for London, establishing the London Marathon to start in 1981.

Watching the London Marathon

For spectators the London Marathon is a great opportunity to see some of the sights of the capital of the United Kingdom. The marathon runs the traditional length, which is 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195km), through the streets of the city, passing by some of the country’s most famous landmarks including the London Eye, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf and the Houses of Parliament.

Although a lot of spectators choose to stand in just one spot throughout the morning, many others choose to move around, selecting a couple of different vantage points so they can see friends or family, or simply look out for the big name athletes and celebrities.

Take a look at the official 2010 London Marathon website as there are some excellent resources on there for spectators and for those who are running. The interactive map is a really useful feature if you want to figure out the best places to stand, and there’s plenty of information on getting to the London Marathon, public transport etc.

And if you want to run in the 2010 London Marathon; sorry, you’re already too late to enter. Selections were made in October, so maybe you could look into running in the 2011 event. Unfortunately thousands of would-be runners have to be turned away each year as there are far more people wanting to run in the London Marathon than there are spaces available.