Marathon de La Rochelle
Encyclopedia
The Marathon de La Rochelle is an annual road running
event which takes place in late November in La Rochelle
, France. It features a full 42.195 km marathon
race as well a 10 km race for amateur runners, a half marathon
for wheelchair athletes
, and a recreational 4 km jog around the city's harbour.
The city of La Rochelle had its first marathon race in 1981. This competition lasted until 1989 (with shorter 20 km races occurring in 1983 to 1985). Following the absence of a race in 1990, the Marathon de La Rochelle was established in its place, having its first edition on 24 November 1991. The marathon is one of the most popular in France, having had a record high of 10,000 entrants and 8625 finishers at the 20th edition in 2010. Among French races, only the Paris Marathon
has had greater participation.
Following the sudden death of Serge Vigot, the race founder and president of the organising committee, during the 2005 Marrakech Marathon, the event was officially renamed the Marathon De La Rochelle - Serge Vigot in his honour. The race as awarded IAAF Bronze Label Road Race status for the first time in 2011.
The course of the race is based on the streets of the central and historical port areas of the city. It has a double-looped figure-8 format and a flat race profile, which makes it easier for elite runners to record fast times. The runners in the marathon are predominantly French, but the elite level races attract East African and other European athletes. The total annual prize money available is typically around 37,000€.
The current men's and women's course records are held by Kenya's John Kipkorir Komen (2:07:13 hours) and Goitetom Haftu Tesema of Ethiopia (2:28:24 hours), respectively. The most successful athletes historically at the race are John Ngeny (who won three times straight from 2000 to 2002) and Elizabeth Chemweno (who won three times between 2005 and 2008).
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
event which takes place in late November in La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
, France. It features a full 42.195 km marathon
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...
race as well a 10 km race for amateur runners, a half marathon
Half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...
for wheelchair athletes
Wheelchair racing
Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted . Athletes are classified in accordance with the nature and severity of their...
, and a recreational 4 km jog around the city's harbour.
The city of La Rochelle had its first marathon race in 1981. This competition lasted until 1989 (with shorter 20 km races occurring in 1983 to 1985). Following the absence of a race in 1990, the Marathon de La Rochelle was established in its place, having its first edition on 24 November 1991. The marathon is one of the most popular in France, having had a record high of 10,000 entrants and 8625 finishers at the 20th edition in 2010. Among French races, only the Paris Marathon
Paris Marathon
The Paris International Marathon is an annual marathon which takes place from the Champs-Élysées heading towards the Place de la Concorde and continuing through the city to finish at Foch Avenue....
has had greater participation.
Following the sudden death of Serge Vigot, the race founder and president of the organising committee, during the 2005 Marrakech Marathon, the event was officially renamed the Marathon De La Rochelle - Serge Vigot in his honour. The race as awarded IAAF Bronze Label Road Race status for the first time in 2011.
The course of the race is based on the streets of the central and historical port areas of the city. It has a double-looped figure-8 format and a flat race profile, which makes it easier for elite runners to record fast times. The runners in the marathon are predominantly French, but the elite level races attract East African and other European athletes. The total annual prize money available is typically around 37,000€.
The current men's and women's course records are held by Kenya's John Kipkorir Komen (2:07:13 hours) and Goitetom Haftu Tesema of Ethiopia (2:28:24 hours), respectively. The most successful athletes historically at the race are John Ngeny (who won three times straight from 2000 to 2002) and Elizabeth Chemweno (who won three times between 2005 and 2008).
Past winners
Key:| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Women's winner | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1991 | 2:23:18 | 2:53:32 | ||
| 2nd | 1992 | 2:20:31 | 2:42:54 | ||
| 3rd | 1993 | 2:19:19 | 2:37:02 | ||
| 4th | 1994 | 2:19:27 | 2:44:52 | ||
| 5th | 1995 | 2:17:11 | 2:40:44 | ||
| 6th | 1996 | 2:16:14 | 2:38:39 | ||
| 7th | 1997 | 2:17:10 | 2:42:22 | ||
| 8th | 1998 | 2:15:43 | 2:38:34 | ||
| 9th | 1999 | 2:15:45 | 2:41:54 | ||
| 10th | 2000 | 2:18:35 | 2:40:03 | ||
| 11th | 2001 | 2:16:19 | 2:35:42 | ||
| 12th | 2002 | 2:17:11 | 2:38:55 | ||
| 13th | 2003 | 2:11:34 | 2:31:54 | ||
| 14th | 2004 | 2:16:08 | 2:39:24 | ||
| 15th | 2005 | 2:12:17 | 2:34:50 | ||
| 16th | 2006 | 2:14:01 | 2:37:58 | ||
| 17th | 2007 | 2:14:17 | 2:37:12 | ||
| 18th | 2008 | 2:14:21 | 2:34:52 | ||
| 19th | 2009 | 2:10:27 | 2:33:28 | ||
| 20th | 2010 | 2:09:44 | 2:28:24 | ||
| 21st | 2011 | 2:07:13 | 2:36:04 |