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
Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon Kolehmainen is recognized as having set a new world best with a time of 2:32:35.8 hours. Although the course distance was officially reported to be 42,750 meters/26.56 miles, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians estimated the course to be only 40 km. Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon The men's marathon event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The distance of this race was 42.75 kilometres. The competition was held on Sunday, 22 August 1920. 48 runners from 17 nations competed. The weather during the race has been described