FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Six historic road races awarded Heritage Plaque
To mark two weeks to go to the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships
Gdynia 2020 (17 October), six of the world's oldest footraces have been
awarded the World Athletics Heritage Plaque.
The World Athletics Heritage Plaque is a location-based recognition,
awarded for "an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and
development of the sport of track and field athletics and of out-of-stadia
athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain, road, trail and
ultra-running, and race walking".
Today six historic road races join a list of 54 other recipients which had
previously been awarded the plaque since the honour was inaugurated on 2
December 2018.
- Around the Bay Road Race, Hamilton, Ontario (CAN) – founded 1894.
- YMCA Turkey Trot, Buffalo, New York (USA) – founded 1896.
- Bechovice 10k, Prague (CZE) – founded 1897.
- Giro Podistico di Castelbuono, Castelbuono, Sicily (ITA) –
founded 1912.
- Kosice Peace Marathon, Kosice (SVK) – founded 1924.
- Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship, Fukuoka (JPN) –
founded 1947.
"These six footraces represent some of the oldest sports events, let alone
running races, in the world," said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.
"They join others such as the marathons in Athens, Boston and Seoul, the
Saint Silvester São Paulo, and Hakone Ekiden which we recognised last year.
"Together these races ooze athletics history. They represent what running
is truly about: the record-breaking feats of the many great champions and
the personal triumphs of the countless recreational and charity runners. We
should also not forget the dedication and hard work of the officials and
volunteers of the local clubs and organising committees which have kept
these historic events on the roads for decades," concluded Coe.
The Around the Bay Road Race, first raced in 1894, holds the distinction of
being the oldest long-distance race in North America. However, unlike the
YMCA Turkey Trot, which was founded two years later, it has not been
continually held.
Prague's Bechovice 10k, which was first run in 1897, is another footrace to
have been held every year since its inauguration.
You will not find many international sporting events with such a historic
location as the Giro Podistico di Castelbuono which, since 1912, has been
annually run around a loop course of this 14th century Sicilian town.
The Kosice Peace Marathon, founded in 1924, is Europe's oldest marathon
and, along with the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship, which
was first celebrated in 1947, are among the original classic marathons
established before the development of the mass running movement.
Information about all recipients of World Athletics Heritage Plaque can be
found at worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque
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