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
2012 Olympic Marathon Course distances relative to the lap start point of various prominent landmarks passed on the route are shown in the table below: When London submitted its bid for the Olympic Games in 2004, the bid chairman Sebastian Coe said: "The marathon course has been designed to include as many of the city's landmarks as possible". Although the final route is different from the one proposed in the bid, it still passes many notable landmarks. Originally the route was planned to start at Tower Bridge, run through Tower Hamlets and finish at the Olympic Stadium. It would have had a 580 m