10 Popular Marathons that You Want to Follow or Even Participate In

Watching a marathon, and even running one, can be an exhilarating experience. The crowds, the adrenaline rush, and overwhelming size of the event can be an experience of a life time. Watching a popular marathon can only add to the great feeling. So consider participating in one of the 10 following popular marathons.

1. ING New York City Marathon

The ING New York City Marathon is one of the world’s
greatest sporting events. It draws more than 100,000 for
more than 45,000 running spots. The event attracts
athletes from around the world and offer more than
$600,000 in prizes. Runners race through 26.2 miles of
urban sceneries and cross the finish line in the Central
Park.

2. BMW Berlin Marathon

Another spectacular event, the BMW Berlin Marathon is the fastest marathon course, where winners have set 6 world records since 1998. It features a maximum of 40,000 runners but spots fill very fast! The latest course record was set in 2008 at 2:03:59 by Haile Gebrselassie from Kenya. At that time, Gebrselassie also broke the world record and since then has tried to do it again.

3. Bank of America Chicago Marathon

With more than 38,000 runners participating in this event, the Chicago Marathon is one of the world’s most popular running events. The course record is held by a Kenyan Evans Rutto at 2:05:50, set in 2003. Since then athletes have come close to breaking this record, but the energy and excitement of this event makes it so much more interesting.

4. Paris Marathon

One of the world’s famous marathons, this event features 40,000
runners from around the world, elite and non-elite running through
Paris’ famous streets. The race starts on Champs-Elysées and
ends at Avenue Foch, and in 2009, the race’s record time was
set at 2:05:47 by Kenyan Vincent Kipruto.

5. Virgin London Marathon

London has much to offer, including a world-class marathon event that draws more than 35,000 athletes from around the world. The Virgin London Marathon starts in Greenwich Park, goes through major historic sites and ends 26.2 miles later at The Mall, Westminster. The course record was set in the 2011 marathon race at 2:04:40 by a Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai.

6. Boston Marathon

With over 26,000 participating runners at the event,
the Boston Marathon is a truly interesting event to
follow. The course starts on Main street in town of
Hopkinton and finished near the John Hancock
Tower in Copley Square. In 2011, a Kenyan
Geoffrey Mutai set event record at 2:03:02. His time
was faster than the world record set by Haile
Gebrselassie in 1973 at 2:03:59 but It couldn’t be
ratified as the new record. Although the As Boston
Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Road race, the
downhill drop of the course coupled with favorable wind made it ineligible for world records according to IAAF.