The challenge for me is to complete the three races, The London Marathon, Great North Run and New York Marathon in the same year. Below are some details of each of the races.

London Marathon

The London Marathon was the vision of Chris Brasher, a former Olympic Champion who returned from running the 1979 New York City Marathon to wonder if London could hold such a race.

After traveling to America to study the finance and organization of other marathons such as Boston and New York, Brasher managed to establish the charitable trust for the marathon with a £50,000 contract with Gillette.

On 29th March 1981 the first London Marathon took place and proved a huge success with 6255 people crossing the finish line.

There are now 46,500 people accepted to run each year with 676,743 having completed the race since it began.

Great North Run

The Great North Run is the largest and most popular half marathon in the world.

Set up by Brendan Foster, the former 10,000 metre Olympic bronze medalist, following a race he competed in in New Zeland in 1979, the Great North Run is ran from Newcastle Upon Tyne to South Shields.

First run on 28th June 1981 with 12,000 participants, the race now regularly attracts 47,000 people, making it one of the biggest running events in the world.

New York Marathon

The New York City Marathon is one of the world’s great road races, with over 90,000 applicants each year.

Started by Fred Lebow initially in 1970 with a route that took in Central park and the surrounding area, the now recognized five borough marathon first took place in 1976 and has grown into a race that attracts over 2 million spectators and a worldwide television audience of 315 million.