2011 pattaya marathon

The origin of the Marathon lies in the year 490 BC. when the Greek soldier Pheidippides is said to have rushed from Marathon to Athens to report the news of the victory of the Athenians (led by General Miltiades) over the numerically superior Persians.

History does record that this last run, from Marathon to Athens (first marathon) had a fatal outcome: after uttering the words “Rejoice, we have won!” in the center of Athens, the messenger fell dead; he appeared to have suffered a sunstroke.

The first Marathon run, as we know it today, was during the 1908 London Olympics. Today Marathon competitions are organized in countless cities in many countries. In the Netherlands alone you can choose from about six Marathons every year

The Marathon requires a lot of physical stamina. The men's marathon elite runs at an average speed of around 20 km per hour (2:06.31 or faster, to be precise; the world record is 20.42 km per hour). Even a well-trained athlete can normally only run a full marathon at speed a few times a year, because the body needs time to recover. Endurance running, speed training, strength training, a balanced diet (including carbohydrates and an iron motivation are some of the ingredients that make it possible to successfully complete a marathon.

Of course, it is not only professional athletes who participate in Marathon competitions, a much larger number of amateurs have also got a taste for running a Marathon every now and then. This is often possible in your own country, but there is also an ever-growing Marathon tourism, in which participation in a Marathon competition is linked to a (short) holiday with family or friends.

Pattaya does not appear in the long list of cities where a Marathon competition is held annually, but the annual Marathon is held here for the 20th time. The number of participants is growing steadily with more than 2010 runners from many countries in 10.000.

pattaya marathon

This year the Pattaya Marathon will be run on Sunday July 17 with start and finish on Beach Road at Central Plaza. The special thing about the Pattaya Marathon is the time of the first start, namely at 4.30 in the morning. Then the temperature is still pleasant before the sun gets the chance to give the runners extra trouble. Unfortunately, there is no world record. That stands at 2 hours and 3 minutes, compare that with the great time of 2010 of the Kenyan winner in 2 hours 23 minutes.

You can run a full Marathon of 42,110 km, but there are also 4 other categories, namely the Half Marathon, the Quarter Marathon, the Marathon for Wheelchairs (distance equal to the Quarter Marathon) and a Fun Marathon of 5 km. All categories are then subdivided into age groups, there is even a category for runners aged 70 and older.

So, take your pick and if you haven't started training yet, it's about time, because July 17th is only a few weeks away. You won't find me there, because 42 kilometers is much too far for me. As a football referee I had to do a lot of running training, but I really hated it. I do have a lot of respect for the runners, so I'll have a look, because the course runs right past my house in Pattaya.