2012 Olympic Marathon Course
Encyclopedia
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
races at the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The course will circuit much of central London, starting and finishing in the Mall
The Mall (London)
The Mall in central London is the road running from Buckingham Palace at its western end to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square at its eastern end. It then crosses Spring Gardens, which was where the Metropolitan Board of Works and, for a number of years, the London County Council were...
.
Original route description
The original plan was that the route would start at Tower BridgeTower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name...
, before heading to a finish at the Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (London)
The London Olympic Stadium will be the centrepiece of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The stadium is located at Marshgate Lane in Stratford in the Lower Lea Valley and has capacity for the Games of approximately 80,000 making it temporarily the third largest stadium in Britain behind...
.
Commencing from Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name...
, the route was planned to circuit central London three times. Each circuit would have passed by or through the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, the Victoria Embankment
Victoria Embankment
The Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London. Victoria Embankment extends from the City of Westminster into the City of London.-Construction:...
, the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
, Parliament Square
Parliament Square
Parliament Square is a square outside the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in London. It features a large open green area in the middle, with a group of trees to its west. It contains statues of famous statesmen and is the scene of rallies and protests, as well as being a tourist...
, Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, Birdcage Walk
Birdcage Walk
Birdcage Walk is a street in London, United Kingdom, in the City of Westminster. It runs east-west as a continuation of Great George Street, from the crossroads with Horse Guards Road and Storey's Gate, with the Treasury building on the north east corner, to a junction with Buckingham Gate, at the...
, Green Park
Green Park
-External links:*...
, Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, the Mall
The Mall (London)
The Mall in central London is the road running from Buckingham Palace at its western end to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square at its eastern end. It then crosses Spring Gardens, which was where the Metropolitan Board of Works and, for a number of years, the London County Council were...
, Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
, the Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
, St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
, and the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. After the final circuit, the route would then have headed east, along Whitechapel Road
Whitechapel Road
Whitechapel Road is a major arterial road in the East End of London, England. It connects Whitechapel High Street to the west with Mile End Road to the east and forms part of the A11 road. It is a main shopping street in the Whitechapel area of Tower Hamlets and has a street market...
and Mile End Road, towards the Olympic Park
Olympic Park, London
The Olympic Park in London is a new sporting complex currently under construction, adjacent to the Stratford City development in Stratford, Bow, Leyton & Homerton in East London for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics....
and a finish in the Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (London)
The London Olympic Stadium will be the centrepiece of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The stadium is located at Marshgate Lane in Stratford in the Lower Lea Valley and has capacity for the Games of approximately 80,000 making it temporarily the third largest stadium in Britain behind...
.
Changes to the route
In September 2010 various newspapers published reports that the London Organising Committee were considering alternative routes for the 2012 Olympic Marathon as the original route would not be "Television-friendly" in London's East-end. Various alternative routes were being proposed including one that ended outside Buckingham Palace rather than the Olympic Stadium. A final decision was due to be made in October 2010. The route shown in The London Evening Standard follows most of the "circular" part of the originally planned route four times instead of three as was originally proposed. It was proposed that the section from Trafalgar SquareTrafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
to St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
be rerouted to the Victoria Embankment
Victoria Embankment
The Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London. Victoria Embankment extends from the City of Westminster into the City of London.-Construction:...
(past Cleopatra's Needle
Cleopatra's Needle
Cleopatra's Needle is the popular name for each of three Ancient Egyptian obelisks re-erected in London, Paris, and New York City during the nineteenth century. The London and New York ones are a pair, while the Paris one comes from a different original site where its twin remains...
) which would then be bi-directional. The article also states that the proposal is to run the course in an anti-clockwise direction, rather than clockwise as was originally proposed.
Since the length of the marathon route is 42.195 km, each lap would have had to be between 10.6 km and 11.0 km to keep the start and the finish close to each other (as is shown on the map in The London Evening Standard). Each lap of the then proposed route would have been 11.610 km.
The route finally announced in October 2010 will start in The Mall, about 100 m from the Victoria Memorial and will have four laps, finishing half-way along The Mall. Much of the route will be within the narrow streets of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
passing a number of landmarks there including St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
, The Guildhall
Guildhall, London
The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
and even passing through Leadenhall Market
Leadenhall Market
Leadenhall Market is a covered market in the City of London, located at Gracechurch Street but with vehicular access also available via Whittington Avenue to the north and Lime Street to the south and east and additional pedestrian access via a number of narrow passageways.-History:The market dates...
. The first lap will be 3.571 km in length and the other three will be 12.875 km in length.
London Marathon comparison
Since the annual London MarathonLondon Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
ends in the Mall while the Olympic Marathon traditionally ends in the Olympic stadium, the Olympic course would not have been the one that is currently used for the annual London Marathon. However the section along the Victoria Embankment and as far as the Mall duplicates the finishing stretch of the London Marathon.
Although the revised Olympic route finishes in the Mall, it still differs from the London Marathon course which starts in Greenwich. Since the logistical problems behind the design of the London Marathon course (35,000 runners of mixed ability) are very different to those behind the design of the London Olympic Marathon course (100 top-class runners) it is highly unlikely that the London Marathon will be moved to follow the Olympic route, which happened in Atlanta, where from 1997-2009, the Atlanta Marathon followed the majority of the Olympic route except for the start and finish, which was located in the car park of the stadium, which had been converted to baseball use
Turner Field
Turner Field is a stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, home to Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves since 1997. Turner Field was originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium, it was completed in 1996 to serve as the centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Olympics...
.