Running races are very seasonal. Summer time is a very big time for ultra marathons and 5K/10K races. Winter is a small smattering of all distances. Spring and fall are the big focus seasons for marathons. The big major marathons all take place around those seasons and are surrounded by smaller marathons. The big marathon spring season is about to kick off! Here are three of the big marathons over the next three weeks.
Big Spring Marathons
Paris Marathon
The Paris Marathon will kick off tomorrow morning at 2:45AM (EST). There are over 40,000 runners registered and it is a big race! It is forecasted at mid-50 degrees tomorrow with clouds and very high humidity. There are some big names running the race with 5 runners who have run sub-2:08 races and two marathon debuts. One of them is Kenenisa Bekele, an Olympic track champion. For the women, there are 5 marathoners that are sub-2:30 and one elite debut marathoner. The humidity is quite high for a great racing day, but hopefully the cloudy weather will help the runners. If you want to watch the race, you can check it out here.
London Marathon
The London Marathon will follow next Sunday. London is a huge marathon with more Guinness records set there than any other marathons. Records for the fastest marathon in costume, most costumes, slowest marathons, crawling marathon, etc. It is a fast course with great race times there and many world-class marathoners in attendance. The weather can be a huge factor (it is London!) but no matter the weather, 40,000 runners are going to have a great time!
Some of the big news for the London Marathon is the marathon debut of Mo Farah, UK’s double-Olympian gold medalist in the 5000 and 10000 meter. Facing him at the line will be some very fast runners – 7 of the other runners are sub 2:05! This includes the world marathon record holder, Wilson Kipsang. On the women’s side, Tiki Gelana has the best time of 2:18. Joining her are 8 runners who are better than 2:25. If you want to watch the race, you can check it out here.
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon will take place on Patriot’s Day, April 21st. It is already the most revered of marathons but this year will be more hallowed as it is the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. The race will see 36,000 runners this year, the most ever. It will also host some great marathoners. The fastest of them is Dennis Kimetto who has clocked a 2:03:45 followed by Ryan Hall with a 2:04:58. After these two come many other incredible marathoners including another American, Abdi Abdirahman (2:08). This will by Ryan Hall’s first marathon in a while and it is essential for him to make a good showing. He is the fastest American marathoner ever and will be looking to do as well this time as he in his last Boston (his PR). Start time for the Boston Marathon is 9:32AM for the female elite runners and 10AM (EST) for the male elite runners and the runners in Wave 1. If you want to watch the marathon, you can check it out here.
Two of these marathons are part of the World Marathon Majors event (Boston and London). Each race will be filled with great runners and thousands of others just like us. 🙂 Marathoning is one of the coolest sports since it allows us to run in the same footsteps of those who are the best runners in our sport. It is an incredible experience, to be sure! Any of you actually running these marathons this year?
