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Richmond by the Numbers

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Richmond by the Numbers
Richmond.com
 View Richmond through dates, statistics, dollars and more.

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David Hylton
Richmond.com
Tuesday, November 06, 2007

On your mark! Get set! Go! On Saturday, Nov. 10, the Richmond Marathon and 8k will once again dominate the streets of Richmond. Thousands of runners will hit the pavement and thousands more spectators will line the streets cheering them on.

If you need to travel that day in Richmond, don't try it. (Click here to see the street closures that day.) The 30th running of the SunTrust Richmond Marathon is drawing record numbers, so driving down Broad Street that morning is not an option.

In honor of the annual event, we take a look at the numbers behind marathons in general, plus more specific Richmond Marathon items.

42.195 kilometers

Ever wonder why we have 5ks and 10ks, but we don't have 42.195k races? Well, we do. A marathon measured in miles is 26.2 … in kilometers it's 42.195.

1896

The first year a marathon was included in the Olympics, although at the time it was only 40 kilometers. Spiridon "Spiros" Louis won the event with a time of 2 hours, 58 minutes and 50 seconds. The women's marathon was introduced to the Olympics nearly 90 years later at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

2 hours, 4 minutes and 26 seconds

The world record time for a marathon. It was set earlier this year in Berlin by Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia.

1978

The first running of the Richmond Marathon. David Ruggles won the men's race in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 49 seconds; Bobbie Allen clocked 3 hours, 15 minutes and 40 seconds in the women's race.

$2,500

The amount of money the winner of the Richmond Marathon receives.

4,763

Previous record for number of entries for the Richmond Marathon. Organizers say this year should top 5,000 entries.

2 hours, 14 minutes and 32 seconds

The fastest men's Richmond Marathon ever, clocked in 2005 by Andrei Gordeev.

2 hours, 20 minutes and 23 seconds

The winning time for the men of last year's Richmond Marathon, won by Asnake Fekadu.

2 hours, 31 minutes and 25 seconds

The fastest women's Richmond Marathon ever, clocked by Irina Suvorova in 2000.

2 hours, 53 minutes and 14 seconds

Maureen Ackerly's winning time for the women in last year's marathon.

1997

The last year a half marathon was part of the day's festivities. After the half marathon was eliminated, the number of entries for the marathon more than tripled from 474 in 1997 to 1,584 the following year (and has since tripled from that number). Entries for the 8k ran on the same day also increased after the half marathon got the ax. In 1997, 1,167 people registered for the 8k; 1,746 entered the next year. Jon Lugbill of the Richmond Sports Backers said recently that the half marathon -- a very popular distance among runners -- will return next year.

1,183

Entries in the first ever Richmond Marathon. No numbers were available for how many runners were wearing tube socks.

16 & 22

Mile markers that will be serving "junk food" to the runners.

8 a.m.

Don't be late! This is when the marathon begins.

$85

If you haven't signed up for the marathon yet, this is how much it costs. (There is no race day registration.) And to think, a year ago you could've signed up for just $30!

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