Marathon news: London, Loch Ness, Victoria, and Vienna

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Royal Victoria Marathon

The Royal Victoria Marathon — as it was called from 1980 to 2010 — then the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon until 2020, is back after a year off. The original name is back too, “Royal Victoria Marathon.” The event scheduled for Canadian Thanksgiving (either the first or second Sunday of October) will go Sunday, Oct. 10 (Monday is the civic holiday). The marathon is not happening this year, however, the half-marathon and 8K races are. The marathon will return in 2022.

Additionally, the elite athlete program has been suspended until 2022. Although some elite athletes may race the event in 2021, there is no prize purse.

Marathon event records are 2:13:42 by Kenyan Lamech Mokono from the 2013 edition. Kenyan Lucy Njeri set the women’s record two years prior at 2:37:56. Kelvin Broad, from New Zealand, has the most men’s wins at five consecutive from 1994 to 1998. Cindy Rhodes from Canada won six times 1991, 1993 to 1995 and 1999 and 2000.

The Royal Victoria Marathon takes place in Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island, which is situated off the west coast of Canada.

Race information is available here>>

Loch Ness Marathon is back

The marathon that takes place in the Scottish Highlands named after the great lake Loch Ness has returned after a pandemic-caused hiatus.

The marathon starts near Whitebridge, and follows the southern side of Loch Ness, passing through the villages of Foyers, Inverfarigaig, and Dores. The route finishes at Bught Park.

The marathon was first established in 2002. It ran for 18 consecutive years until 2019.

Kenyan Moses Tanui holds the men’s event record at 2:20:31 from the 2009 running. The women’s record is 2:42:04 set by Great Britain’s Katie White in 2019.

The weekend event includes 10K and 5K races in addition to the marathon, which takes place during the first Sunday of October each year.

Visit the website for more information here>>

Vienna City Marathon declares itself COVID-free

Organisers of the Vienna City Marathon have reported no COVID-19 cases related to its race held that was held last month. There were 18,118 competitors at the event.

Athletes came from 126 nations. Apparently, at least 93 per cent of participants were vaccinated.

The Public Health Service of the City of Vienna announced that no infections were recorded in connection with the event.

The first edition was held in 1984 with just 794 competitors. It is now Austria’s largest road running event. The 2010 edition had record participation levels with 32,940 runners from 108 nations taking part.

In addition to the marathon, there is a 4.2 km fun run and a half marathon, there is also a relay event.

Getu Feleke of Ethiopia owns the men’s record at 2:05:41 from 2014. The women’s record is 2:22:12 by Kenyan Nancy Kiprop from 2019.

There was no event in 2020 due to the pandemic.

On Sept. 12, 2021, the race was back on. It was won by Leonard Labgat in 2:09:25. The women’s winner was Vibian Chepkurui in 2:24:29.

London Marathon is back on its original course

Perhaps by the time that readers have seen this article, the London Marathon will have already been run.

The 2020 edition was moved from the traditional time of year in April to Oct. The course was changed too, to St. James Park, a closed loop that required multiple laps.

The date remains for this year, however, organisers plan to move the marathon back to the April timeline. The original course is back, however.

It is the largest participation marathon in the world and is the biggest charity event in the world.

Although marathons in London have a history dating back to 1909, the London Marathon as we know it started in 1981.

World record holder Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge hold the current course record at 2:02:37 from the 2019 edition. He tried to win in 2020, however, he didn’t enjoy the cold, wet, and windy weather and although he finished had a sub-par performance. He is out this year.

English runner Paula Radcliffe, the former world record holder set that standard in London at 2:15:25 in 2003.

Kenyan Brigid Kosgei is hoping to take her third consecutive London. She ran 2:18:20 and 2:18:58 in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Kosgei is the current world record holder at 2:14:04 from the 2019 Chicago Marathon. She earned a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

London welcomes 40,000 people back to the event, which goes Sunday, Oct. 3.

It is regarded as one of the deepest all-time fields in marathon history.

Read more about the London Marathon here>>

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