Marathon Facts

‎03-09-2014

Over the next few weeks, in the run up to the 2014 Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon we’re going to share some of our favourite marathon facts and statistics. We’ll be updating this post regularly with the latest facts we’ve shared, so don’t forget to check back. The facts will be shared daily on the Plusnet Twitter feed, with a weekly round-up over on the Plusnet Facebook page. You can also keep up to date with the latest facts here on this blog. So without further ado, here we go:

The current world record for the marathon is 2:03:23, set in 2013 by Wilson Kiptang. That's a 4:42 average for each mile.
At this year’s Plusnet Yorkshire marathon there will be 57,600 bottles of water around the course.
The marathon was extended to 26 miles 385 yards in 1908, so that the British Royals could see the start of the race! Prior to this the distance was usually around 25 miles.
There will be 3 miles of barrier and some 2,000m of banners out on the course at this year's Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon.
The oldest man to complete a marathon was Fauja Singh, aged 100 he completed the Toronto marathon in 2011.
Before he lined up on the start line for last year's Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon, Rob Duddington had already completed 74 miles. An Ultra athlete, Rob was aiming to run 100 miles in around 22 hours.
Paula Radcliffe currently holds the womens world record for the marathon in a fast 2hrs, 15mins and 25 seconds.
A marathon runner burns around 2500-3000 calories. Some runners attend pasta parties prior to the event to fuel their bodies for the upcoming marathon.
In 2009 Ian Sharman broke the world record for the fastest time completing a marathon dressed as Elvis Presley. He finished the Seattle Marathon in 2:42:52 whilst wearing a pompadour wig and a white jumper suit!
The fastest marathon time for someone dressed as Santa was also set in 2009, this time by Paul Simons. He recorded 2:55:50.
In 2007, Sunita Williams ran the first marathon by a person in orbit! She completed the marathon on a treadmill and finished in 4:23:10. There's more details about this over on the NASA website.
The New York City marathon is the largest marathon in the world, the 2013 event had over 50,000 finishers.
At this year's Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon there will be over 800 volunteers supporting the event to make sure everyone enjoys themselves.
At the annual Man versus Horse Marathon in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, humans compete against riders on horseback over 22 miles. Twice in the last 10 years the runners have beaten the horses.
The southernmost marathon takes place in Antarctica where the average wind chill temperature hovers around -4 degrees Fahrenheit.
In 2011 a Belgian runner set a new record by completing 365 marathon races in one year. Stefaan Engels ran a marathon a day across seven countries, finishing in Barcelona, Spain after covering over 9500 miles.
The highest start to a marathon is for the biennially-held Everest Marathon, first run on 27 November 1987. It begins at Gorak Shep, which is 5,212 m (17,100 ft) high.
The oldest anuually run marathon is the Boston Marathon, starting back in 1897.
In 1990 Daly Lyons ran the entire London marathon with a fresh egg on a dessert spoon, he finished in 3 hours 47 minutes!
The Great Wall Marathon in China includes 5164 steps along the wall during the course.
In 2010 Achim Aretz ran a marathon backwards, setting a new record in 3hrs 42mins and 41seconds.
In 2011 football freestyler John Farnworth completed the London marathon in 12 hours and 15 minutes, juggling a football for the entire distance. He didn't drop the ball once.
David Babcock knitted a 3.7 metre scarf whilst running the Kansas City Marathon in 2013. David took up running and knitting around the same time and decided to try combing his hobbies!
The most siblings to complete a marathon is 16 and was set by the Kapral family. Chris, Vince, Steve, Tony, Joe, Doug, Angela, Allison, Theresa, Phil, Michelle, Mary, Nick, Mike, David and Sarah. They ran the Community First Fox City Marathon in Wisconsin, USA, on 20 September 2009.
Shane White ran the Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon in 2012 and managed to solve 175 Rubik's cubes whilst running it!