ATHENS MARATHON. THE AUTHENTIC – Athens Marathon confirms its unique status, Christoforos Merousis wins classic event

A record number of 16,000 runners went to the start line of this classic race at the very source of the event's inspiration, the coastal town of Marathon from where the marathon was launched in the inaugural Olympic Games of the modern era in 1896. That marked a rise of almost 25% from a year ago, while SEGAS, the Greek Athletics Federation, recorded a total of 43,000 entries for this and the shorter distance events, held the same day.
 
At the AIMS Gala in Athens on Friday evening Eliud Kipchog receives Marathon Runner of the Year awards in Athens-  Ethiopia's Mare Dibaba was awarded the women's prize after a year in which she won the world title in Beijing among an equally impressive list of accomplishments.  The Green award for an event with the best environmental policy went to the Houston Marathon and the Lala Marathon in Mexico received the award for the best programme of social responsibility. The 1972 Olympic Marathon champion, Frank Shorter, received the lifetime achievement award. The American is recovering from surgery in the USA and his son Alex, also a marathon runner, collected the award on his behalf.

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Athens Marathon. The Authentic / race-news-service.com