Athens Marathon. The Authentic

The Athens Classic Marathon The Authentic (Greek: Κλασικός ή Αυθεντικός Μαραθώνιος Αθηνών) 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 competitors in 2015 of which were for the 42.195 kilometre (26.2 mile) course, both numbers being an all-time record for the event. 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 Greek legend of Pheidippides, a messenger who is said to have run from Marathon to Athens to bring news of the Greek victory over the Persians at 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. 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 onwards. The current course records are 2:10:37 hours for men, set by Felix Kandie in 2014, while Rasa Drazdauskaitė's run of 2:31:06 in 2010 is the quickest by a woman on the course. Organized by Hellenic Athletics Association (SEGAS)