FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Athens at the heart of the Marathon
Eliud Kipchoge, Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, Gladys Cherono and Mare Dibaba
are the candidates for the 2015 AIMS Best Marathon Runner Awards
Athens, November 8th - Athens, the birthplace of the Marathon, will be the
focus of attention for the international running scene for three days from
November 6 to 8. Firstly the Association of International Marathons and
Distance Races (AIMS) will honour the best marathon runners of the year
with the 2015 AIMS Best Marathon Runner (BMR) Awards, at an international
Gala to be held in the evening of Friday, November 6. The next day will be
marked by the Opening Ceremony for the "Athens Marathon. The Authentic".
This is followed by the high point of the Athens Marathon itself, on
Sunday, where the organisers expect more than 16,000 runners to
participate.
This is the 3rd edition of the AIMS BMR Gala in Athens to honour the best
runners of the year. The candidates were recently announced by AIMS and are
the Kenyans Eliud Kipchoge and Gladys Cherono, the Ethiopian Mare Dibaba
and Ghirmay Ghebreslassie from Eritrea. The winners in the male and female
categories will be determined by a voting process currently taking place
amongst more than 380 member races of AIMS. Winners will be announced
during the BMR Gala.
The period under consideration for the 2015 AIMS Best Marathon Runner Award
is from the beginning of October 2014 to the end of September 2015. During
this time Eliud Kipchoge won three major marathons: Chicago, London and
Berlin and a few weeks ago set the world’s fastest time of 2:04:00 at the
latter event. Ghirmay Ghebreslassie overturned expectations by winning the
World Championship race in Beijing in August. His gold medal was achieved
after finishing sixth in Chicago and second in Hamburg in his previous
races.
Gladys Cherono ran her debut marathon in January when she missed victory in
Dubai in January by just one second, finishing in the highly impressive
time of 2:20:03. She went one place better in her second attempt at the
distance, running the fastest woman’s time this year of 2:19:25 to win the
Berlin title at the end of September. This was also the fastest performance
by a woman on an officially recognised course since April 2012. Mare Dibaba
is the only other woman to have broken 2:20 this year. She achieved that
feat with 2:19:52 to win the Xiamen Marathon in China in January. She won
the women’s marathon at the World Championships in Beijing and her career
includes victory in the 2014 Chicago Marathon and second place in Boston
this April.
Four more special awards will be presented during the Gala, which is
organised by AIMS and the Hellenic Athletics Federation (SEGAS): the Green
Award, the Lifetime Achievement, the Social Award and the Popular Runner
Special Award. It has already been announced that the Chevron Houston
Marathon will receive the Green Award.
Saturday, November 7, will mark the traditional Opening Ceremony for the
"Athens Marathon. The Authentic". The Ceremony takes place inside the
Archeological Site of the historic Marathon Tomb, the memorial site of the
Battle of Marathon, where the Greek troops defeated the Persians in 490
BCE. The Athenian soldier-messenger-runner, who according to legend ran
from the battlefield to bring news of victory to his fellow Athenians, was
later the inspiration for the creation of the marathon race for the
inaugural Olympic Games of the modern era in Athens in 1896. During the
Ceremony, the Marathon Flame, established in 2007, will be lit in front
local authorities, IAAF, AIMS and SEGAS executives, marathon legends and
race directors of more than 70 international marathon events. The Marathon
Flame is carried by relay to the start of the race in the nearby town of
Marathon and marathon runners of next day's event have the chance to take
memories of it.
In these difficult economic times the "Athens Marathon. The Authentic" has
become a real Greek success story. The organisers SEGAS have again recorded
increased numbers of entrants for the race with approx. 16,000 expected to
run on the original marathon route, an officially measured course, served
by an organization of very high international standards. Including races
over shorter distances (5 and 10 km as well as races for children), some
43,000 entries for the event on Sunday, November 8 have been received. The
classic race over 42.195 km will begin in the town of Marathon as ever. The
historic course will take participants into Athens and the Olympic Arena
for the 1896 Games, the Panathinaikon Stadium. Entries for the Marathon are
still available and can be accessed by going to:
www.athensauthenticmarathon.gr.
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