Marathons

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon (formerly the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon) is a major marathon held yearly in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alongside the Boston, New York, London and Berlin Marathons, it is one of the five World Marathon Majors. The October 10, 2010 running was the 33rd Anniversary running of the race. It has been run every year since the September 25, 1977 running of the first race under the original name the Mayor Daley Marathon drew a field of 4200 runners. It is among the fastest growing marathon road races in the world, due in part to its largely fast and flat course which facilitates the pursuit of personal records and world record performances. The race has achieved its elite status among marathons by developing relationship with sponsors who provide prize money to lure elite runners who have produced American and world record performances.

There is no qualifying time to participate in the Chicago Marathon, but only runners who finish within 6½ hours are officially timed. The race is limited to 45,000 runners on a first-come, first-served basis. Although the race has limited registration, exceptions include elite runners and charity representatives. Increasingly, local (e.g., Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital), national (e.g., American Cancer Society) and global (e.g., Global Business Assist, British Red Cross, Asha for Education, World Vision) charities and humanitarian organizations encourage sponsored participation in the event as a means of fund raising.

Tip: Before you run this marathon you may want to take a ride through the course with a bike to get familiar with the more difficult sections.

The 2008 marathon featured a new sponsor name in Bank of America, (as Bank of America acquired LaSalle Bank in 2007).[8] The 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon took place on Sunday, October 10, 2010. Registration for the 2010 race opened to the general public on February 1.

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The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics,[1] the Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world’s best-known road racing events. It is one of five World Marathon Majors.

Today, the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) manages this event. Amateur and professional runners from all over the world compete in the Boston Marathon each year, braving the hilly New England terrain and varying weather to take part in the race.

The event attracts an average of about 20,000 registered participants each year. In the 100th running of the Boston Marathon in 1996, the number of participants reached 38,000

Qualifying

The Boston marathon is open to all runners, male and female, from any nation, but they must meet certain qualifying standards.[6] To qualify, a runner must first complete a standard marathon course certified by a national governing body affiliated with the International Association of Athletics Federations within a certain period of time before the date of the desired Boston Marathon (usually within approximately 18 months prior). Prospective runners in the age range of 18–34 must run a time of no more than 3:10:59 (3 hours and 10 minutes) if male, or 3:40:59 (3 hours and 40 minutes) if female; the qualifying time is adjusted upward as age increases. For example, a 40–44 year old male can still qualify with a time of 3:20:59. An exception to the qualification requirement is awarded to 1,250 runners who raise a pre-determined level of funds for officially designated local charities. In addition, official overseas travel partners of the Boston Marathon have some places for runners from overseas who lack qualifying times but purchase a relatively high-priced package that includes travel and a guaranteed entry.[citation needed]

For many marathoners to qualify for Boston (to “BQ”) is a goal and achievement in itself, making it a “people’s Olympic event.”

In the 1980s and 1990s, membership in USA Track & Field was required of all runners, but this requirement has been eliminated.

Race day

The race has traditionally been held on Patriots’ Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts, and until 1969 that was every April 19, whichever day of the week that fell on. Starting in 1969, the holiday was observed on the third Monday in April and so the marathon date was correspondingly fixed to that Monday, often referred to by local residents as “Marathon Monday.”

Start time

Through 2005, the race began at noon, (wheelchair race began at 11:25 a.m., and the elite women at 11:31 a.m.) at the official starting point in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Beginning with the 2006 event, the race has used a staggered “wave start,” where (in 2006) top seeded runners (the elite men’s group) and a first batch of up to 10,000 runners started at noon, with a second group starting at 12:30. Beginning in 2007 the starting times for the race were moved to 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. for the two wave starts, with the wheelchair and elite women’s divisions starting at 9:25 a.m. and 9:35 a.m., respectively. These changes were made primarily because of the runners’ desire to begin the race earlier to take advantage of cooler temperatures, though another added benefit is that many roads along the course can reopen to traffic earlier in the day.

The course

The course runs through 26.22 miles (42.195 km) of winding roads, following Route 135, Route 16, Route 30 and city streets into the center of Boston, where the official finish line is located at Copley Square, alongside the Boston Public Library. For this reason, the MBTA suspends service to the Copley Square stop for the day, and runs increased service to the general area. The race runs through eight Massachusetts cities and towns: Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston.

The Boston Marathon is considered to be one of the more difficult marathon courses because of the Newton hills, which culminate in Heartbreak Hill near Boston College. While the three hills on Commonwealth Avenue (Route 30) are better known, a preceding hill on Washington Street (Route 16), climbing from the Charles River crossing at 16 miles, is regarded by Dave McGillivray, the 2007 race director, as the course’s most difficult challenge.This hill, which follows a 150 foot drop over the course of one half-mile, forces many lesser-trained runners to a walking pace.

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Heartbreak Hill

Heartbreak Hill is an ascent over 0.4 mile (600 m) of the Boston Marathon course, between the 20 and 21 mile marks, in the vicinity of Boston College. It is the last of four “Newton hills”, which begin at the 16 mile mark. The Newton hills confound contestants (out of proportion to their modest elevation gain) by forcing a late climb after the downhill trend of the race to that point. Heartbreak Hill itself rises only 88 vertical feet (27 m), from an elevation of 148 feet at the bottom to an elevation of 236 feet at the top, but is positioned at a point on a marathon course where muscle glycogen stores are likely to be depleted—a phenomenon referred to by marathoners as “hitting the wall”.

Where the name Heartbreak Hill came from.

The nickname “Heartbreak Hill” originated with an event in the 1936 race. On this stretch, defending champion John A. Kelley caught race leader Ellison “Tarzan” Brown, giving Brown a consolatory pat on the shoulder as he passed. His competitive drive apparently stoked by this gesture, Tarzan Brown rallied, pulled away from Kelley, and went on to win—in the words of Boston Globe reporter Jerry Nason, “breaking Kelley’s heart.”

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The Atlanta Marathon is an annual 26.2 miles (42.2 km) marathon held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

The first running was in 1963 at the North Fulton Golf Course, making it the oldest in the Southeast. The following year, the Atlanta Track Club was formed, and has run the event every year since. In 1966, Tim Singleton became director, and later founded the Peachtree Road Race. Fred Lebow ran in the marathon in the late 1960s, and later founded the New York Marathon in 1970. It has been held on Thanksgiving since 1981 and is believed to be the longest of several Turkey Trots held on Thanksgiving across the country.

Route

Click here to download Route Map

From 1964 until 1980, the race had its beginning, middle, and end at the The Westminster Schools campus, twice running a loop up Nancy Creek Road.

Originally run on the weekend before Christmas, it was changed in the mid-1970s to be after the holiday. This was done in conjunction with the Peach Bowl, a bowl game held every year around New Year’s Day, and it was renamed the Peach Bowl Marathon.

In 1981 the race was moved to downtown Atlanta, and the date changed to Thanksgiving in late November. This move doubled participation in the race, renamed back as the Atlanta Marathon. In 1981 and 1982 it ended in Decatur.

From 1983 to 1991, the marathon began in the suburban metro Atlanta town of Lithonia and going east through Stone Mountain, with the half-marathon beginning at the halfway point in Clarkston, and both ending in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park after traversing Decatur, and the Atlanta neighborhoods of Inman Park and Virginia-Highland. This route was along the CSX railroad tracks, thus it was much less hilly than previous routes. On one occasion the race was held for a train, on another the train was held for the race.

From 1992 to 1996, it began and ended near Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, running north on Piedmont Road (Georgia 237) to Peachtree Street, where it headed north and then back south. The start of the half-marathon was near the Chamblee MARTA subway station.

Since 1997, about 90% is run along the same course used for the 1996 Summer Olympics, ending near Turner Field (built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in the A-FC stadium parking lot). Since 2008, the event has been sponsored by The Weather Channel.

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The Adirondack Marathon is a marathon, 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi), held each September in Schroon Lake, New York. The race follows a road course around the lake. The race motto is “The most beautiful 26 miles 385 yards you will ever run.” There were 331 finishers in 2010.

The Course
The Adirondack Marathon begins on Main St. in Schroon Lake Village. The course goes north on Rt. 9 to the Alder Meadow Rd where it stays relatively flat for the first three and a half miles; however, between three and a half and six miles (10 km) the course rises almost 300 feet (91 m) to an elevation of 1,100 feet (340 m) above sea level. On the east side of Schroon Lake the course follows East Shore Dr., a scenic Adirondack Mountain road. The course drops to an elevation of 900 feet (270 m) between miles six and eight, and then steadily climbs again between miles eight and eleven. During this section of the course there are beautiful views of the lake. The elevation drops as the course enters the village of Adirondack where it remains relatively flat. After rounding the southern tip of the lake, the course rejoins the rolling hills of Rt. 9 in Pottersville, turns north and returns to Schroon Lake Village, ending at the Town Beach on Leland Ave.

click here to download map

History
The Adirondack Marathon was first held in 1997. The men’s winner was James Garrett in a time of 2:37:21; the women’s winner was Simone Stoeppler with a time of 3:04:08 (still a course record). Peter Heimgartner has won the race six times (’98-’00,’02,’04,’06) while the women’s race has seen Virginia Rebeuh win a pair of races (’98,’05). The men’s course record was set in 2007 by David Herr in a time of 2:36:55. The handcycle race began in 2000 and the course record was set in 2003 by Chris Klebl in a time of 1:46:50.

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