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Athens Classic Marathon Kicks Off On Sunday

Athens Classic Marathon will be held on the 31st of October for the 28th consecutive time. The start point of the 42 km race-course is the Marathon Start Venue in the city of Marathónas, and its finishing point the Panathenaic Stadium.
From this year onwards, the Athens Classic Marathon will be included in the “Golden Marathons”, the most important Marathons organized annually all over the world. This great news coincides with the 2,500 years anniversary celebration of the Marathon Battle, in 490 BC. The marathon race has its roots in this great battle that significantly influenced Greek and world history alike. John Stuart Mill famously suggested that “the Battle of Marathon, even as an event in British history, is more important than the Battle of Hastings”.
This year’s Marathon is also dedicated to the memory of the great scientist and politician Gregory Lambrakis, a symbol of democracy and social justice. Lambrakis was actively involved in the Pacifist Movement of his time, which organized in 1963 the First Pacifist Rally from Marathon to Athens.
In the framework of the Athens Classic Marathon, the Marathon Flame Lighting Ceremony, a special ceremony inaugurated in 2007, will also take place. The Lighting Ceremony will be held on the 30th of October (on the eve of the Marathon) at the tomb dedicated to the fallen warriors of the Marathon Battle. After the Lighting Ceremony, the flame will be carried by relay all the way to its final destination, the starting point of the marathon.
A commemorative cultural celebration will also take place in front of the Zappeion Hall. Furthermore, the Hellenic Athletics Federation is organizing the ATHENS CLASSIC MARATHON EXPO dedicated to sports, tourism and health at the Zappeion Conference and Exhibition Centre on Thursday 28 October, Friday 29 and Saturday 30 October 2010.
This year is the 2,500th anniversary of the fabled 490 BC run of Athenian messenger Pheidippidis, who is said to have run from Marathon to Athens to announce victory over the invading Persian army.
There will be a record 12,500 runners — more than three times the usual figure — and a record total of 3,000 Greeks taking part in the 28th edition of the race on Sunday.
The city is brimming with excitement and organisers are hopeful that after years living in the shadow of its counterparts in New York, London, Berlin and Boston, the ACM will finally come of age.
“We have 9,500 foreign runners but what is equally important is we have the largest number of Greek runners in the history of the event,” organising committee president Kostas Panagopoulos told a news conference.
“Also we expect the international visitors to spend around five days in Athens with the amount of money spent to total approximately 25 million euros — a very important amount in these difficult economic times.”
Greek-American TV correspondent Maria Menounos will host the 2,500th anniversary of the Greek Marathon (photo).
The total number of participants, including the 10-km and 5-km races, will be swelled to 20,500.

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