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Welcome to The London Marathon 2007 |
The London Marathon, like Santa, does indeed come once a year and what an occasion it is. The organisers came up trumps again and should be congratulated to create an ingrediant of interest which involves the whole world. A feather in their cap was the capture of America's Ryan Hall to make his debut in London. From a marketing point of view this was a stroke of genius as it brought an interest from the North American continent like no other occasion.
The race itself lived up to all the drama and excitement we have come to expect from the yearly event. The sweltering heat didn't diminish the overall excitement, if anything it added to the drama.
The Men's race saw the return of 2005 winner, Kenyan Martin Lel, to the victory podium after a sprint finish took him clear of debutant, Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco. The winning time was 2:07:41.
In the Women's race China provided a winner for the first time in the history of the race when Chunxiu Zhou broke clear from a pack of 3 over the last 3 miles to win comfortably in 2:20:38.
See the event coverage :
The London Marathon Build-up 2007
Ryan Hall to Debut at Flora London Marathon
Khannouchi, Keflezighi, Hall Lead U.S. Contingent at London
The Flora London Marathon, set for Sunday, April 22, has put together another stellar field which also includes a strong U.S. contingent of 2002 race champion and former world record holder Khalid Khannouchi, 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, rising star Ryan Hall, the emerging Fasil Bizuneh and sub-2:30 marathoner Blake Russell.
Blogs: London Marathon predictions and Gebrselassie
April is now seen as the month of the marathon and to the hopeful in the Northern Hemisphere the coming of summer. The London Marathon falls squarely into this category and it is incredible that the once considered not so fast course (due to its slower times in comparison to now), is now considered the course best suited for a World best attempt.
Gebrselassie, Tergat, Baldini, Gharib and Limo set for London
Last year's fastest marathon runner Haile Gebrselassie will take on his great rival and world record holder Paul Tergat of Kenya, plus Italy's Olympic champion Stefano Baldini, Morocco's double world champion Jaouad Gharib, and the reigning London champion Felix Limo of Kenya, in one of the highest quality men's fields ever assembled for a major city marathon.
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