Garmin Forerunner 205

It&rsquo;s that time of year when thousands of enthusiastic athletes hit the streets to participate in the annual London Marathon. The event is now such a highlight of the sporting calendar that most people would actually be surprised to discover that the very first London Marathon took place in 1981. <br><br>The notion for the marathon was the brainchild of two ex-athletes, Chris Brasher and John Disley. Chris Brasher is famed for the part he played as pace-maker in the first four minute mile, and for achieving a gold medal in the Olympic steeplechase in 1956. Footage shows him participating whilst wearing huge glasses &ndash; perhaps if he was alive and participating now he would go for much safer contact lenses or Laser eye surgery! <br><br>Anyway, the two friends had heard people enthusing about the New York Marathon, and wanted to have a look at what was so special about it, so they decided to enter themselves for the event the next year. The event had such a huge impact on them and when they arrived back in the UK, they decided to find out whether it would be possible to put on a similar event in London. <br><br>Through powerful contacts a meeting was organised with representatives of all the official bodies which had to approve the idea if it was to happen. It seems that, once a suitable route had been suggested, agreement was reached relatively quickly and the very first London Marathon was run in March 1981. For that first marathon, about 20,000 people applied to take part, and around 7,700 were accepted of which 6,255 ended up completing the race.<br><br>One of the restrictions when proposals for the event were approved was that no public money should be expected to pay for the expense of holding the event, so sponsorship was necessary to be sure that all costs could be covered. The organisers were extremely lucky with the timing, because Gillette had just ended their cricket sponsorship and were searching for a new sporting sponsorship deal. That first race was sponsored to the tune of &pound;75,000. Since 1981, sponsors have changed a number of times with this year&rsquo;s sponsors Virgin taking over from Flora in 2010 having signed up to a five year sponsorship deal. <br><br>The event route hasn&rsquo;t altered much during the last thirty years. The only real alteration from the early days is that the race now finishes in The Mall instead of on Westminster Bridge. There have been a couple of minor changes, but apart from that it has continued to remain much the same since the very first race. But on the other hand, technology has come on in leaps and bounds since then. Precision timing utilising a beam similar to that produced by a Laser eye gives precise race times for the elite runners as they pass through the finishing line and break the beam. Ever increasing television coverage from every possible angle means that nobody who is interested needs to miss a single thing, though after many hours of seeing thousands of runners storming or staggering past, you may begin to feel that you are a candidate for corrective glasses or <a href=”http://www.lasereyesearch.co.uk/” target=’_blank’>Laser eye surgery</a> to get your eyes focusing properly again! <br><br>Anyone watching the race will know only too well that the majority of the runners are involved in the race to make money for their favourite charity. Over three quarters of those who participate do so to raise money and it is estimated that over five hundred million pounds has been raised by participants during the last thirty years. Some charities are signed up to a scheme whereby they are guaranteed a specified number of places in the event, and they can then allocate them to their supporters in exchange for a specific amount of sponsorship money. <br><br>The race also provides great publicity for London as a place to visit as countless viewers all around the globe watch on television whilst the runners pass by famous London landmarks including the Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf, Parliament Square and Buckingham Palace. Sometimes it seems a shame that the event can&rsquo;t be timed to work with some other big London occasion &ndash; perhaps combine it with a huge firework display and beams of light darting across the sky from <a href=”http://www.lasereyesearch.co.uk/” target=’_blank’>Laser eye</a> equipment. Who knows if something of that sort will happen sometime in 2012 during the Olympic Games though?<br><br>More than anything else though, the marathon is about the participants. Naturally, there are the outstanding athletes who run the marathon as a genuine world class race, but the huge majority are just ordinary people who decide to try and run just over twenty-six miles in order to help others. Anyone who has watched the event will recall only too well the variety of costumes, the selection of charities emblazoned on clothing and the happy camaraderie shown by all of the participants and by the crowds lining the route. Here&rsquo;s to another outstanding marathon this year!<br>