London Marathon: 12 interesting facts

When it comes to Marathon running you can't read anything in any running related literature without coming across a statistic, usually in the first paragraph. So, in the tradition of Marathon writing, I thought I would include as many statistics as I can find here for your reference.

1. Over the course of a marathon the average runner will lose 2.5 litres of water.

2. Over 26.2 miles runners will take 30 000 steps, over three times their body weight is transferred though their heel every time is hits the ground.

3. The current course record holder for the London marathon is Sammy Wanjiru with a time of 2 hours, five minutes and ten seconds. The current male World record holder is Haile Gabresalassie with a time of 2:03:59 set in Berlin, 2008.

4. The slowest marathon finisher was Major Phil Packer who completed the course with a time of 13 days, a remarkable time considering Packer lost his legs in Afghanistan only starting to use crutches a month before the race.

5. The fastest marathon completed dressed as a vegetable was recorded in 2009 by Robert Protheno who crossed the finish line dressed as a large carrot in 3:34:55.

6. Over it's history, enough water has been handed out to runners to fill 150 Olympic sized swimming pools!

7. The last British winner of the London marathon was Paula Radcliffe who broke the World record with a time of 2:15:25. However, the last British man to win was Eamonn Martin way back in 1993 who was not actually a professional athlete at the time.

8. 1 in every 67 414 London marathon runners dies. This is comparable with many daily activities.

9. The course distance of 26 miles 385 yards is not in fact, the distance from Marathon to Athens in Greece but was the distance ran at the London Olympics in 1908 when Italian, Dorando, famously barely crossed the line but was subsequently disqualified after receiving assistance from the clerk of the course. The Gold medal was awarded to the second placed American, Johnny Hayes. Promoters and bookies set up a subsequent series of rematches but insisted the race be run over the exact distance ran in London. The International Olympic committee sanction the distance the following year and ever since then the World knows the Marathon as the distance set in London, not Greece.

10. The first Womens Marathon race did not exist as an Olympic event until 1984 in Los Angeles. Back in 1981 the winner of the men's race received 1375 pounds while the winner of the women's race received a wrist watch. Fortunately, there is a bit more equality these days with both the male and the female winners receiving the same prize money of 36000 pounds.

11. The human body can only store approximately 2000 calories in the form of glycogen which is converted from carbohydrates and stored in the liver and muscles. Most runners run out of glycogen between the 18 and 20 mile mark. This is commonly referred to as "hitting the wall".

12. The most common profession amongst marathon runners is teaching.