Small improvement in the course

Almost every Marathon has a little loop somewhere in  in the route to make the course fit the 42.195km.

In Amsterdam is has been, for ages, a loop leaving the Amstel near the windmill, over a small road and roundabout onto the Europaboulevard and back again (called 'locatie oude lus' on the map).

The loop is this year on the President Kennedylaan and this saves al lot of turning making the route a bit faster (called 'nieuwe lus' on the map).

With this change it was necessary to measure the route. And this is still done old fashioned way by bike with the use of a Jonescounter. Read more...

Silver Cup first Olympic Marathon on display in Athens

The Price of the first Olympic marathon is on display in the Acropolis, in Athens, Greece. The silver cup was up for sale in April this year (see corresponding posting).

By then they estimated the cup to raise some 200.000 euros but the final result hit the 650.000 euro. The cup was sold by the grandson of the first time winner and was purchased by another Greek who wanted to keep the cup in Greece as part of their national heritage.

First on display in the Acropolis, from September 2013 it will on display in a cultural centre.

source: Reuters.

The Stimulator: A training in preparation for the marathon

This is a nice training for anyone who is preparing for a marathon. Run 16 miles, which equals 26,2 kilometres, in the pace you have in mind for the marathon race day.

.

interview with both gents

Why 26,2? Well this has to do with both Americans that came up with this training Keith and Kevin Hanson of  Hansons-Brooks Distance Project (see video).

For those who think in miles the marathon is 26.2 miles in stead fo 42.195 kilometres. Furthermore it is more than your average duration training and it will help tp prepare yourself mentally for the big day. It gives you the feeling what it is like to maintain your marathon tempo for a longer period.

On the other hand: It is short enough to recover within a few days to continue your marathon training.

TIP from RunningDutch:

You can copy this idea for other distances:

• 13,1 kilometre for your half marathon pace;
• 10 K in preparation for the !) mile race;
• etc.

other tips

The Hansons will have their elite runners do this training some 5 weeks before the marathon.

I myself would look at my training schedule and pick a training day which lists a 25K run in the week leading up to the marathon.
Most likely you can find on of those in the 6 to 3 weeks leading up to the marathon.
Just do this training in your marathon pace in stead of the more leisurely Long Slow Distance (LSD) pace.

You can also use this training to practise your eating and drinking strategy for the race. Try to find out which sports drink is provided at the refreshing points during the race. Quit often this is one of the sponsors so simply look at the race website.
Do you consider to Carry your own drinks and gels? If so, than carry it with you during this training as well. If not, find someone to help you who can be your refreshing point en route.

As this training is carried out at marathon pace find a route with clear markers or use a GPS watch or have some with you on a bike with a distance meter.

If you are training for a marathon just to finish it and you don't have the ambition of a certain time? Than the usual 20miles run is still the best (which equals 32km and this is a nice route).

RunningDutch Review: Amsterdam Marathon

This autumn will see the 37th edition of the Amsterdam Marathon.

The Location
Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands and abroad probably the most well known Dutch city. Probably for its canals, coffeshops  and red light district but also the 'Rijksmuseum' with paintings from Rembrandt and the Anne Frank House.
Important for you as reader of this blog: It is also the venue of a very popular marathon.

If you consider visiting Amsterdam to take part in the marathon you can consider to take a canal tour or a coffeeshop tour. The latter maybe after the race?

Hotels? No problem in Amsterdam as you can tell from booking.com or Expedia.

The course: Fast, scenic, historic and a brilliant finish 

Tower in front of stadium

The course is flat and therefore fast. The wind however can be tricky but later more on that topic.
The start of the marathon is in the Olympic Stadium. Originally built for the Olympic Games of 1928 but beautifully renovated in 2000 with a very good 400m track.

After 200m on this track you leave the stadium passing the tower which held the Olympic fire and, with eye for detail, measures 42 meters and 19,5 centimers. Recognise the numbers?

Find your pace on the wide road leading away from the stadium towards the 'Vondelpark' on a average Sunday crowded with people enjoying the sun, jogging around etc. Remember the scenic part of the course as you will run it again in opposite direction on your way back. You run past the Rijksmuseum and loop back to the stadium.

 The cours:

> Flat
> Fast
> Historic
> Start & Finish in Olympic Stadium

Only 7k en route you leave the stadium behind you for a second time and head for the river Amstel to run on the historic route of the Olympic marathon of 1928. You join the rive around km 12 heading south east. Around km 15 you make a small loop leaving the river clearly added to make up the distance of the 42k.

You run on along the scenic Amstel joined by boats with music and people cheering you on. You cross the river at 19 and run back on the opposite site. At my pace (5min.km) I have the opportunity to see the elite running this homeward stretch while I myself still have the outbound leg ahead of me.

It is along this river that the wind can be tricky as the route is in the open.

As for most people the true marathon starts around the 25k. It is no fun to be running for some 5k in a more industrial area with little people along the route before you come into residential area's again.

I myself find the 37k mark the difficult spot. First you head into a short tunnel in order to cross underneath a major road. Climbing out of the tunnel you continue the climb to cross the Amstel once more. Only little elevation it is enough for me. If you experience no problems enjoy the view to your right while crossing the Amstel.

After running trough the Vondelpark the second and last time you head for the stadium to finish on the very comfortable running track. Feel like the elite runners cheered on from the stands by the people in the stadium.

clikc course map for lager image

The organisation: Professional
The event is very well organised, the infrastructure around the start en finish area is ok. The drop off point for  your bag with clothes can be crowded and the dressing area is in a sport hall a couple of 100 meters from the start and finish. Nice for warming up and cooling down. On a colder October day this can mean you can get a little bit cold before you can change you wet running apparel. You'll get a thermo blanket after the finish line to stay warm.
The route (see above for more details) is free of cars and spectators, refreshing posts are with water and sports drinks at every 5k. No complaints on this front.

The entourage: OK

Coming from abroad the route can be found scenic both in and outside the city. Don't expect to run in the old city centre but do enjoy the windmill around the 15k mark.
Except for the spectators in the stadium most people along the route are either cheering on a friend or semi interested locals not really making it an effort to be to enthusiastic.

For the spectators
As you might know cycling is very popular in the Netherlands so consider renting a bike and you can cheer on you friend, husband, wife, father, mother, etc a couple of times along the route. Using the metro you can do the same. Start for example in the stadium, than wait outside for the runners to come by after the 7K loop. take the metro to f.e. the 30K mark which is very close to a metro stop. This will give you plenty of time to go back to the stadium to see the finish of your .......(fill in the appropriate reference to your runner).

The verdict
OK, Amsterdam is not one of the biggest marathons but is very popular for tourist so why not consider to combine your running exploits with a visit to Amsterdam? And maybe take home a Personal Best on the flat course.

Wanna read more on Amsterdam? Hit the Amsterdam label and see my other 3 postings on Amsterdam.

Below a Youtube slideshow which offers an impression of the 2011 edition:

The Olympics: taking part is the most important bit...

Foto: www.olympics.org

Next Friday the Olympics Games start in London. In dutch we have a phrase that translates into: 'Taking part is more important than winning'. Nowadays with big money at stake from sponsor contracts (f.e. Usain Bolt with Puma, or Australian 400 meters gold medal winner in 2000 Cathy Freeman with Nike) taking part is no longer enough. Not so for Guor Marial!

Guor, aged 28, is a refugee from South-Sudancurrently living in the US working to become a US citizin
Guor is one of the many victims of the war in Sudan. Kidnapped at the age of 8, he escaped from the forced labour camp to return to his family. Only to be kidnapped once more and again forced to work.

After this he escaped once more and via Egypt travelled to the US. He lost 28 family member in the war and therefore does not want to participate on  behalve of Sudan. However the newly formed South-Sudan does not have an Olympic committee. He successfully applied to take part at the games and he will compete under the Olympic flag (as one of four, the other three being from the Netherlands Antilles).


Guor will start at the marathon  with a PB of 2:12. not very likely he will be taking part to take away a medal but definitely motivated to take part and value being there to be an inspiration for youngsters from the South-Sudan.

Read here one of the many news items on Guor or view the short video.

Marathon Road; a road movie;p

This short documentary highlights Jason Lehmkule, Andrew Carlson, Matt Gabrielson and Josh Moen of Team USA Minnesota as they train for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials.

Lets hope they know "It is al about the journey and not about the destination" because they did not succeed in running in the top three of the trails. Actually: The top three is made up of two quite senior runners with an African background.

First to finish was Meb Keflezighi, born in the African nation of Eritrea but immigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was 12. He won the trials race in a personal-best time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 8 seconds. Aged 36 he will be 37 when running in London.
Second in 2:09:30 and earning a trip to his second Olympiad was the pre-race favorite, Ryan Hall, 29, who stamped himself as America's fastest marathoner when he ran a 2:04:58 in the 2011 Boston Marathon, placing fourth behind three African runners.
Third was another Africa-born runner, Somalia native Abdi Abdirahman, also breaking 2:10 with a time of 2:09:47. Like Keflezighi, he is, at 34, one of the older practitioners of this physically punishing sport. A three-time Olympian at 10,000 meters, he will be on his fourth Olympic team in London.

Running on Empty: Insights into the death of Samuel Wanjiru

Above the
Dutch cover
below the
english edition

A year after the death of Wanjiru the Dutch reporter Frits Conijn published his book on the death of the one time Olympic Champion on the marathon. Wanjiru died from a fall (or jump) from the balcony of his house in Kenia.

A quote from the international well known manager of athletes Jos Hermens  who wrote the foreword: "I knew Wanjiru always friendly and smiling. Trough this book I understand the tragedy he was hiding behind this smile."

Sammy Wanjiru ran a world record on the half marathon of the Hague, the City Pier City run. His best performance was the gold medal in the Olympic marathon of Being.

Conijn had access to Wanjiru’s inner circle and found evidence of a possible over up.

The Dutch edition was published exactly one year after the death of the athlete.

The video below, from Dutch Television, shows some of the highlight of his career.

 

The power of social media: over 1M pound raised after death

In last week Londons Marathon Claire Squires died in the final mile of the race. Aged only 30. It could have been just one of the new items that pop up every now and then. A runner who dies while out on the track.

However, as most runners in the London Marathon, Claire was running to raise money. In this case for the Samaritans. She had just raised around 500 pounds on the morning of the race. Nothing out of the ordinary there as well.

But now the story takes of. After her death donations came streaming in, mainly as the news spread due to social media. Up to this moment the figure is up to 1,000,000 pound. Including a contribution of Richard Branson of Virgin. The sponsor of the marathon.

Wanna help? Here is the link to her fundraising site.

Wanna read more? Here are just two flavours of the news as brought by the Daily Mail and the BBC (or just hit google news).

Bold statement from Kenyan Women

Photo: All Athletics

After the clean sweep last Sunday in London there is a bold statement by the Kenyan Women to enter the Olympic race. They want to repeat last Sundays success with a gold, silver and bronze medal during the olympic marathon next summer.
Read more...

There is however one important difference: The Olympic marathon is run on a different course. It is a course that consits of one smaller en three larger loops. Twisting and turning trough the city center. It has 90 turns and the longest straight line they run is 800 meters. Maybe this will help to come up with a surprise winner. A runner that can cope with changes in rythm.

Olympic Marathon Route London 2012

RunningDutch Review: Cracovia Maraton

Last week I participated in de the 11th Cracovia Maraton. Besides offering me a nice experience for my 15th marathon it also gives me the opportunity to write a review on this event.

The City
Krakow, or Cracow, is without any doubt one of the pearls of central Europe. Rich in history it survived the havoc of the Second World War which destroyed so many other cities in Poland. The Nazis did destroy the Jewish population, first in the ghetto and than in nearby Auschwitz.
The inner city within the Planty (a green park/zone around the centre) still has its medieval street plan. To the south east of the city centre snuggled in a bend of the Wisła river is Kazimierz; The former Jewish quarter. Renovated after the film ‘Schindlers List’ created a renewed interest in this part of history.
The hordes of tourist no longer returned to the city centre after visiting the Royal Castle and Cathedral at Wavel. More and more the tourist visit Kazimierz as well. It houses some fine restaurants and the Synagogue. The National Museum in the city centre houses some famous paintings such as the da Vinci painting ‘Lady with an Ermine’.
From the city one can take trips to the famous salt mines of Wieliczka and of course Auschwitz. This link will help for more ideas.

Al this means that visiting Krakow is worth wile even without taking part in the marathon. The airport is close by and a train takes you in 20 minutes or so from the gate to the city center. Various airlines fly to and from the airport named after one of the most well known Poles: Pope John Paul the 2nd. So you should have no problem getting there from abroad. Being so popular with tourist means that the city has a large number of hotels from hostels up to 5 star quality (look here for some ideas).

Chocolate pankcake at Wedel

Besides the pasta party on the evening before the marathon there is plenty of choice as the city has a wide range of restaurants to offer. Not in the least all the restaurants on the Rynek, as the picture testifies with this delicious chocolate pancake with banana. It is served in the restaurant from the Wedel Chocolate brand, on the north side of the Rynek.

The course
The start and finish is near Błonia and the football stadium of Wisła Krakow. Not as attractive as a start in the city centre but it offers enough space for a well organised start and finish area. The start is divided in into zones regarding you expected finish time but it is managed by ‘self regulation’. So if you want to start at the front of the pack (this year 4000+ runners) just make sure you are at the right spot.

The first few K is a loop around the big field of Błonia (where Pope John Paul 2nd held masses in 1979, 1983, 1987, 1997 and 2002 of which the first 3 were still under communist rule). So your supporters have the chance to see you twice. Once during the start and second after this first loop.

Then you head for the city centre which is by far the most attractive part of the course. Besides the first 2 or 3 k around Błonia the route is over wide roads so no risks of congestion. The part of the course through the city centre is one of the finest I have run so far. After approximately 6K you turn into the Rynek (or Market Square) with Sukiennice (the Reniassance Cloth Hall, Drapers' Hall, more on Wikipedia).

You cross the square on the western side and head towards the north site of the old town and run a short stretch through the green park around the centre (Planty) before your turn back into the city centre going through ‘Brama Florianska’ into ‘Ulica Florianska’, the famous Florianska Gate and Street, running towards Kosciol Mariacki back onto the Rynek. This time you cross the Rynek in on the eastern side before turning into Grodzka, towards Wavel, the Royal Castle on the banks of the Wisła , or Vistula river.

I realy enjoyed this part of the run even though I was already feeling the effect of the rather warm spring sun. In spite of the early start at 9:30 temperatures were close to 20 degrees Celsius which, in this city environment is warm to say the least. After a short loop back into the old town just outside the Planty you cross the river to the south bank. You run up and down on of the major roads and then along the river for a small stretch offering superb views of Wavel. Next you cross the river again for the long loop into the residential area ‘Nowa Huta’.

This stretch of the track is wide asphalt road which reflects the sun and was very warm. Secondly, although the roads look rather straight and flat it is all the time slightly up or down hill making it not the easiest part of the track. After a short loop through the green suburbs you head back along the same road. A stretch of the course clearly designed to achieve the distance required for a full marathon although as residential areas go; Nowa Huta is interesting due to its history and architecture (read more on Wikipedia).

Around 34K you take a small back road and enter a cyclepath along the river for a 6K stretch along the river, around Wavelhill. Again this was a warm stretch with the spring sun reflecting of the asphalt and, although the river is on your left hand, on your right hand side is Wavel hill or trees or buildings that reflect the warmth. You leave the river at app. 40K to head back to Błonia . You can see the football stadium and it feels like you almost there but still have to loop half of the Błonia field before you can finish.

In summary: The first 10K around Błonia and into the city centre are great. From 10K to 34K offer great wide roads but most of the time with some incline. I probably would have enjoyed the stretch along the river back but by that time the warmth got the best of me.

The organisation 
The organisation is good. The expo and administration where you can pick up your number and T-shirt are small but well organised. I did not take part in the pasta party but this looked also well arranged inside the stadium. With your BIB, which contains the chip for the time registration, you’ll get also a sponge that you can use during the race. They do not hand out sponges but offer the possibility to dimple you sponge in water to refresh (more environmental friendly than handing out all these sponges at all refreshing points.

Speaking of which; There is room for improvement at the refreshing points. There was enough water and isotonic drinks but the volunteers where filling the cups using bottled water in 1,5litre or 500ml bottles. This did not allow them to fill the cups fast enough so they ended up by handing bottles to the runners that ware craving for water due to the temperatures that hit 20 degrees or more for the first time after colder weather so no one was really used to run in this temperature. I have to say that in spite of this there were more than enough refreshing points. One hotel along the route set up an extra point served by neatly dressed waitresses. Nice marketing.

Runners were allowed to park their cars in front of the stadium on showing their BIB but if the number of participant will increase the coming years (as with most popular city marathons) there won’t be enough space. However when you come from abroad I suggest you take a hotel close to the city centre. You can either walk to the start or take a cab (they are not that expensive. Near the start is a good organised baggage drop of using plastic bags and a sticker with your BIB number you get with your BIB. Afterwards one can take a shower close to the finish line. Albeit when I used it the warm water had run out in my shower block. Quite refreshing after the heat during the run;p

The verdict
Cracovia Marathon is a well organised event which sees far too little international runners taking part than it deserves. If you want to run for a fast time pick a flat course such as Rotterdam, Amsterdam or Berlin. But if you want to run 'trough history', as they claim on the medal, you can in Krakow. Maybe not a ‘must do’ as the big ones but I can definitely recommend it. It think it is even part of its charm that is not such a mass event as the big ones. So if you look for a bit smaller venue in a very nice surrounding; think Cracovia Marathon for next spring.

CPR instructions for Boston Marathon Runners

The organization of the famous Boston Marathon has posted a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) instruction on their website. With the use of a video runners, and of course other who are interested, can learn how they can perform CPR.
Being trained in CPR I strongly advise not only to watch this video. If you seriously what to help: try to find a first aid class nearby an practise! They have dummies on which you can practise the posture, the rhythm and the technique.
However let this not withhold you to come to the rescue the minute you see a runner collaps because even with this video in mind you might be able to save someones life!

So please watch careful en remember: It can also happen in everyday live.



For a success story:


Carlton Smith mentiones an AED. This stand for Automated External Defibrillator. More and more you can find the First Aid version of this devise in for example stores of public buildings.
Below you find an instructional video. Again I strongly advise to follow some classes to go through the drill as shown in the second part of this video:


Let hope you never have to use this knowledge!

Top 3 in pictures: Marathon Rotterdam

Like other years you could find me on the Coolsingel for the Rotterdam Marathon. The difference with previous years? One and a half hour earlier and behind the barriers instead of on the course.

It gave me the opportunity to take pictures of the elite runners.

Adhane just before finishing in 2:04:48

Number 2: Geleke

Number 3: Mosop

Video reports on the marathon of Rotterdam

The NOS covered the whole race. Here you can find some short impressions:

 The final stages of the mens race:
 

 and the women:
 

 The 6th place from the Dutch Koen Raymaekers with a personal best. He just failed to qualify for the olympic games. Let hope the Dutch Olympic Committee wil reconsider:
 

 The interview afterwards:
 

 With the ladies the same story. Miranda Boonstra: again a personal best but just failing to qualify for London:
 

 her interview after the finish;
 

Anoucement for Marathon of Rotterdam

Tomorrow 10:30: the start of the Rotterdam Marathon. The national broadcasting services of the Netherlands promote thier coverage of the event with the video below. Will we see a worldrecord tomorrow morning? Wanna know more on this marathon. Read my review!

26 loops to complete a marathon

In West Lafayette, Indiana, over 100 runners participated in the Circular Logic Marathon. 26 laps of 1 mile each! Actualy a good idea to be able to organize a small scale marathon without al the hassle to create a 26 mile course. And as the organizer states: "It is nice for the supporters because they can set up themselves and watch 'their runner' 26 times".

Dozens take part in unusual marathon: wlfi.com

RunningDutch Review: Rotterdam Marathon

logo and some of the elite runners
(source site Rotterdam marathon)

Within two weeks we will see another edition of one of the fastest marathons in the world: The Rotterdam Marathon.

The Location
Rotterdam is one of the bigger cities in the Netherlands but to international standards it is a relatively modest city with over 600.000 inhabitants. It has however one of the biggest ports of Europe if not in the world. The harbour once in the hart of the city is now located well outside the city and partly on artificial land build into the North sea. One can take a boat tour to see the harbour. The boats from Spido leave from the Erasmusbrug. Close to the bridge you can also find the maritime museum. Two nice excursions to relax the day before the marathon?

The city heart itself was destroyed in world war two so old parts of town are hard to find and mostly outside the centre. Instead along the river one can find modern office building. Dutch skyscrapers up to 100 meters high. It is close to Amsterdam and Schiphol airport. It has its own airport with several connection to various European cities.

The route: Fast, fast and ...eh....fast

The course map

The bridge packed with runners
shortly after the start 

The route is fast. Rotterdam ended first on the world ranking in 2009 and 2010 and the fastest marathon city after Berlin with its world record. The start and finish is in the heart of the city on the Coolsingel. A wide road leading up to the Erasmus Bridge and across the river Maas. The bridge is a modest climb and the after the wide roads leading up to the bridge somewhat narrow. Specially the turn at the other end of the bridge.

The marathon is popular. 2011 saw 24.000 participants. So even on the wide roads it can become crowded every now and then. A couple of years ago the organisation made the loop on the south bank a clockwise loop (instead of counter clockwise). Some of the less wide stretches now come after the 20k mark instead after 4 or 5k. This improved the flow a lot (I speak from personal experience on this point as I have run Rotterdam multiple times.
Another improvement is that another modest climb across the railroads which is now before the 5k mark instead of around the 20k mark.
The second time you pass the Erasmusbridge is after the 25k mark. This time you'll feel the climb probably more than the first time. After the bridge you have a twist and turn and a 'dive' trough a little tunnel heading towards the loop around the Kralingse Plas. Back towards the finish on the Coolsingel packed with spectators who will cheer you on.
Beside the bridge and the little tunnel the route is flat and packed with public. Only between 30 and 33k you are on your own as spectators are far and few between on this stretch.

It is a route laid out for record and personal bests if the weather cooperates. In 2007 the marathon was cancelled some 3 hours into the race due to the heat after several people were taken to hospital and tow received CPR. But this is an exception in April.


The organisation: Professional
The organisation of the marathon is run by Like2run also responsible for the CityPierCity run that I covered a few week ago and some smaller venues. The event is very well organised, the infrastructure around the start en finish area is OK, although dressing facilities are a couple of 100 meters away from the finish. On a colder April day this can mean you can get a little bit cold before you can change you wet running apparel. You'll get a plastic blanket after the finish line to stay warm.
The route (see above for more details) is free of cars and spectators, refreshing posts are with water and sports drinks at every 5k. No complaints on this front.


The entourage: OK

Don't run the marathon for sightseeing purposes. Beside the start and finish in the city centre and some of the architecture around the Erasmus and immediate area there are not that many interesting view.
The spectators make it definitely worth wile! Sometimes packed in rows, always cheering you on. Sometimes offering extra refreshments up to an orange or a cold beer. Realy fantastic.and according to the organization close to 1.000.000 people strong!

The verdict
OK, Rotterdam is no London, Berlin, New York, Rome or Paris as a city offering you very special views along the route. However the waterfront and some of the architecture is special. It is the very fast course and the great public that should persuade you to run Rotterdam and go for your best time ever!

Wanna read more on Rotterdam? Hit the Rotterdam label and see my otherpostings on Rotterdam.

Below a promotional film of the marathon:
   

Haile Gebrselassie Revealed

On the day Haile reveals he will not participate in the olympic marathon next summer here the CCN documentry 'Haile Revealed' in 3 parts.

Part 1: Haile and his role in the ethiopian society
Part 2: Haile his background

Part 3: Haile and the 2007 marathon of Berlin

How to measure 42.195 metres for a marathon

On the eve of the 2008 marathon of Rotterdam one of the Dutch new papers published an article on the technique used to measure the route of the marathon  (article in article in PDF).

What we learn from this article is:

1. A marathon is usually longer than 42.195 kilometre. 
2. It is measured with old fashioned low tech

Why is a marathon longer? In case the winner runs a world record the track is measured a second time. To avoid that the track is not long enough one meter is added on every kilometre!

On top of this; most runners will not run the ideal line. The elite runners as well run probably a couple of 100 metres extra.

The low tech devise used to measure the distance is a very simple but effective devise called the Jones-counter. This is connected to the wheel of a bicycle.

Silver Cup first Olympic Marathon up for sale?

For those marathon runners with olympic ambitions but not enough talent there is an other option available to obtain a 'gold medal'.

When the first marathon was run in 1896 it was won by the Greek Spyros Louis. The prize for him winning this approximately 40k run from Attica to Athens was a silver cup. This is put up for auction and to raise an estimate of between $188,500 to $251,300 taccording to Reuters.

The grandson motivates the sale that cup cannot be devided among his two children. Another reward Spyros Louis got for winning the first olympic marathon is that his name is given to the new olympic stadium when Greece hosted the 2004 games.

Organized by one of the UN organizations and as part of the summergames for children: a marathon in Gaza strip.
The children ran it as a relay and 9 adults completed the entire marathon. Winner of this first ever marathon in Gaza strip is Nader al-Misri in 2:42:47. He is in training for the olympic marathon of London 2012.
Check out the numbers on the runners shirts. Looks like everyone brought his own number along.

Background on this UN initiative on the UN website.

Sorry but the video is partly in Dutch but it gives a nice impression of the event.