Don’t they come around quickly, these Fridays? After a busy week (if you’re not running the Manchester Marathon) we’re hoping that you’re thinking of kicking back this weekend and having some much deserved R&R. If the subject of buying a new office or letting offices in Manchester is on your agenda, the good news is you can relax while you browse our easy to use website…just make yourself a cuppa, put on your slippers on and let our website find an office for you, you can even email us and we’ll contact you Monday with all the details you need.
And if you are running, the team at Canning O’Neill would like to wish all the runners the best of luck and have a good race! That brings me nicely to our IT guru, Steve Priest who is travelling a little further to run a marathon down to sunny Brighton – we wish him luck and look forward to hearing all about his adventure on his return.
In honour of this weekend’s marathon mania, we thought we would focus on some marathon trivia…happy weekend everyone!
- Upon the Greek victory over the Persians in 490 B.C., legend says that soldier Pheidippides ran 25 miles from the battlefield in Marathon, Greece, to Athens to deliver the news. After he arrived, Pheidippides yelled out, “Rejoice, we are victorious,” then collapsed and died.
- The marathon was reborn at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 when 17 competitors ran the 24.8 miles (40K) from Marathon Bridge to the Olympic stadium.
- Marathons of around 25 miles continued until the London Olympics in 1908. Although the length was originally intended to be 26 miles, with a start at Windsor Castle and the finish at White City Stadium, Queen Alexandra requested the distance be extended 385 yards — or 26.2 miles — to the East Lawn so that the royal children could watch the race from their nursery.
- That distance would become the official standard of all marathon competitions in 1924.
- Paula Radcliffe, 37, of Great Britain holds the International Association of Athletics Federation world record for fastest marathon, which she set at the London Marathon in 2003 with a final time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 25 seconds. She is a three-time winner of the London marathon, two-time winner of the New York City marathon, and took home the grand prize of the Chicago marathon.
- Patrick Makau Musyoki, 26, of Kenya set the world record for men in 2011 at the Berlin Marathon when he ran the course in 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 38 seconds.
- As the youngest marathoner in the world, Indian slum orphan Budhia Singh had run 48 marathons before he turned 5 years old under the direction of his trainer, Biranchi Das. The now-9-year-old runner’s quest to become the greatest in the world.
- At 100 years old, Fauja Singh became the oldest person to finish a marathon when he crossed the finish line at the 2011 Toronto Marathon. His final time: eight hours, 11 minutes, and 5.9 seconds.
Source: Everyday Health (website)
