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Event
Information:
The
Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon is a race from Mel Lastman
Square, in the north end of Toronto,
to Queen's Park. The race was
initially called the Canadian
International Marathon, and was
first held in 1995 under its current
organizer. The origins of the event
trace back to 1977. In 2003, its
name was changed to the Toronto
Marathon. In 2008, it was again
renamed for a new primary sponsor,
GoodLife Fitness. It is held on the
third Sunday in October, the first
Sunday after Canadian Thanksgiving.
Because of concerns that the Toronto
Waterfront Marathon being held three
weeks prior leads to too many road
closures, the Toronto Marathon will
be run in May, beginning in .
In
addition to a full marathon, the
event also includes a half marathon,
a 5-K run, and an eight-person relay
across the marathon course. The
marathon meets international
standards and is a qualifier for the
Boston Marathon. The marathon is a
long-distance running event with an
official distance of 42.195
kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), that is usually run as a
road race. The event was instituted
in commemoration of the fabled run
of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a
messenger from the Battle of
Marathon (the namesake of the race)
to Athens.
The
marathon was one of the original
modern Olympic events in 1896,
though the distance did not become
standardized until 1921. More than
500 marathons are contested
throughout the world each year, with
the vast majority of competitors
being recreational athletes. Larger
marathons can have tens of thousands
of participants
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