This intriguing Marathon zigzaging around the streets of Florence, made its first experience back in 1984. The run takes you across the magnificent wonders of La bella Firenze . In November(date to be decided), the 27th Marathon begins like always, from Michelangelo square passing through the historical city center and ending at the feet of Santa Croce where great philosophers, artists and sculptors of the world rest in peace.
This event has brought great admirers from all over the world. There has been a constant rise in the number of athletes participating in the Marathon. The Italians have always been the majority of the contenders, though French, Germans and the English are not far behind. While the first Marathon had a capacity of 462 athletes, last year the number of participants came to a consistent 8207, men and women included. The winners of the men’s Marathon has been dominated by the Kenyan runners since 2004 while the Italians have an upper edge on the women’s run.
It is the 6th year now that the Marathon has been broadcasted live for 3 hours in Raitre channel. The marathon is not just any normal sport event. It is considered as a National Championship Marathon. 2 :08:41 is the Men’s record defended by Kenyan James Kutto in 2006 while the Slovenian runner Helena Javornik holds the 2:28:15 Women’s record since 2002.