2012 Olympic Marathon Course laps, finishing at the start point. It follows the Victoria Embankment towards the City of London where it takes a winding route and continues eastwards to Tower Hill. At this point there is a U-turn and the route heads westwards, again using the Embankment as far as the Palace of Westminster and thence back to The Mall. The last three laps are identical and are exactly 8 miles (12.875 km) each. The first lap, which only incorporates the south-western section of the route, is 2 miles and 385 yards (3.571 km) long. A summary of the course and associated distance
Long-distance swimming Some of the better-known long-distance swims are crossings of the English Channel, Catalina Channel, Fehmarn Belt and Cook Strait. Ultra-long distance swimming is sometimes referred to as marathon swimming. The minimum distance that constitutes a marathon swim has dramatically shortened over time. Different organizations adopt various minimum distances. The swimming marathon events at the Olympic games have a distance of 10 km. Long-distance swims tend to fall into one of two categories: (1) swims in which the start date and start time are chosen by the individual swimmer (often called solo-swims), and (2) swims that involve a group-start. Long-distance swimming