Контроль читання 8 клас the London marathon The London Marathon

In March 1981, the first London Marathon took place. 7,747 people were accepted out of over 20,000 appli cants.

The full track is 26 miles long. The concept of the mara. thon comes from Ancient Greece. An Athenian Soldier ran 26 miles to give news of the defeat of the invading Persian army at the battle of Marathon.

The London Marathon is an international competition,

charity event and street festival, all in one. Runners from all over the world, both professional and amateur, have to apply a year in advance in order to take part in the Mara thon. The selection is very strict.

To qualify, candidates either need to be strong profes sional runners of raise a substantial amount of money for a charity of their choice. Runners who support charities are called fun runners.

Instead of competing against the clock they try to im press the public with silly costumes. In 2002, one of the fun runners ran in a full deep-sea diving costume! As the costume was very heavy, he had to be accompanied by a doctor to make sure that the runner didn't have a heart attack!

Professional runners take a different approach and start serious training programme at least a year in advance to be able to achieve the necessary level of fit ness.​

seanius    1   07.05.2021 13:03    5