XXVII FIRENZE MARATHON - 28th november 2010 Running in Florence

The wrapping glamour of centuries of art, history and culture accompanies you step by step along the 42 kilometres and 195 meters of the Florence Marathon. A unique emotion which can be told only by those who have run in Florence and which has made the classic race of Florence an appointment that cannot be missed by thousand of sportsmen and enthusiasts who each year punctually come from all over the world on the last Sunday in November. The Florentine event has gained exponential importance during the recent years, so much that on last November 29th on the occasion of its XXVI edition a new record of participants has been achieved with over 10.166 runners (7.425 Italians and 2.741 foreigners) coming from 57 countries.
The record of the men’s race has been established by the 24-year old Kenyan James Kutto who won his race in 2h08’41”: fourth time ever for the winner of an Italian marathon. A record has been achieved also with regard to the number of athletes crossing the finishing line: 8.206 runners. Amazing numbers, in witness of a development both numerical and qualitative, which has transformed the Florence Marathon into the second Italian marathon second to the Rome race.
An event, which is not only a sport event, but also a custom and cultural enchanting event. This is the common feeling joining thousands of runners and shared by the large audience of Raitre channel, watching the three-hour live broadcast of the XXVI Florence Marathon by Tgs-Raisport. This is the fifth consecutive year dedicated by Rai to the live broadcast of the Florentine event, as well-deserved appreciation of the growing importance this event has achieved during the recent years. Mentioning numbers only, however, won't convey the right value to a marathon which has now reached full excellence as to its organizational level and which can boast an exceptional stage such as the city of Florence, unique in the world for its beauty and atmosphere.
The Florence Marathon is the main road race event taking place in Tuscany, which together with Rome is rightly by now the most important international marathon in Italy and among the first 20 marathons in the world as far as quality and number of participants. The event inaugurated by Orlando Pizzolato, multi-winner of the New York Marathon, has been attended during the years by some of the main Italian athletes such as Giacomo Leone, Francesco Ingargiola, Michele Gamba, Fabio Rinaldi, Denis Curzi and Angelo Carosi, in the men’s field, Tiziana Alagia, Gloria Marconi, Florinda Andreucci, Bettina Sabatini, Anna Rita Incerti and Vincenza Sicari, in the women’s field, just to mention a few, besides top-ranking foreign runners. James Kutto, Kenyan beginner over the long distance, who crossed the finishing line in 2h08’41 “, exceeding the record established by his compatriot Daniel Kirwa Too in the year 2001, with 2h10’38”, has established the men’s record of the event in the year 2006. On the contrary, the women’s record has been established during the 2002 edition by the Slovenian Helena Javornik, winning with the excellent time of 2h28’15”.

THE ROUTE
The Florentine route follows landscape views and monuments of singular beauty, which made the city famous worldwide. A route touching the most fascinating places in Florence, such as piazza del Duomo, piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio and many other roads and squares rich in history and culture, before ending in the solemn majesty of piazza Santa Croce. The path is fully surfaced and ramp-free, exception made for the slightly sloping stretch of road at the start. Those characteristics make it particularly flowing and appreciated by all the athletes.

FIRENZE MARATHON EXPO
The Florentine race is always supported by many tourist, sport and leisure initiatives like the ones offered by the Firenze Marathon Expò: fair and reception centre for the athletes, stage of events and shows, such as traditional technical congresses open to the general public, meetings with athletes and experts, sessions of guided training or tasting of typical produce. A lively and vibrant area of over 4 thousand square meters, within the indoor area of the new Athletics Stadium ‘Luigi Ridolfi, which last year hosted about seventy stands
displaying the best products for sports lovers and which has been visited by over 22.000 visitors.

FIRENZE MARATHON AND SPORT TOURISM
Moreover, the Florence Marathon offers to athletes and companions the ideal chance to live the city as tourists, during the pre-Christmas time, with the possibility to avail oneself of a prompt service of hotel booking at competitive prices. This is a further reason which makes the Florentine event, with its ability to combine the tourist and cultural aspects with the agonistic side, attract an always increasing number of participants from all over the world: 57 countries in 2009, with 2.741 foreign registered runners.

GINKY FAMILY RUN
It was one of the innovations of 2007 edition, and it has characterized also 2009 edition of the Florence Marathon,last November,29th. It is the development of what for eight years has been the race devoted to “small champions” on the marathon’s day: the GINKY MINI RUN, an event organized by Firenze Marathon, in cooperation with Atletica Firenze Marathon and with the Sport and Education Councillorships of Florence Municipality. The Family Run, indeed, aims at preserving its characteristic of being an event able to fascinate students of primary and secondary schools (over 2.500 in piazza Santa Croce last year), and to open out to families in order to give birth to an event uniting young people and adults to sport and joining people of every age in a big sport celebration able to involve the entire city of Florence.