Greater Manchester Marathon Head pub in Warburton, although at this point the run was only. The first marathon to be run over 26 miles and 385 yards was the race in 1909, it started in Sandbach and finished at the Fallowfield Stadium in Manchester. A marathon has been run along various routes in the Manchester area intermittently throughout the years with various start and finish points. Until 2012, the last marathon to be held in the city was in 2002, with the 10 km Great Manchester Run superseding it as the major running event in Manchester. The current course finishes at Old Trafford
Marathon swimming Marathon swimming Marathon swimming is a class of open water swimming defined by long distances (at least 10 kilometers) and traditional rules based in English Channel swimming. Unlike marathon foot-races which have a specifically defined distance, "marathon swims" vary in distance. However, one commonly used minimum definition is 10 kilometers, the distance of the marathon swimming event at the Olympic Games. As in all open water swimming, tides, surface currents and wind-chop are major determinants of finish-times. For a given course, these factors can vary dramatically from day to day, making any attempt to draw conclusions about athletic ability by