140,000 Runners To Compete On Roads This Weekend

The Paris Marathon is the biggest contributor.

Written by: David Monti

(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

Based on the actual finisher counts from the same events last year and an industry trend of continued growth, over 140,000 runners should be running through the streets of Asia, Europe, and North America this weekend at about 20 important road races tracked by Race Results Weekly.

The biggest will be the 35th edition of the Paris Marathon on Sunday.  Last year’s race had a record 30,815 finishers, making it the third largest marathon in Europe behind only London (36,550) and Berlin (34,027).  Also in Europe, last year’s ABN AMRO Marathon Rotterdam (note the new title sponsor for this year) had 7856 finishers, and the festive Nike Cursa de Bombers 10K in Barcelona boasted 15,114 finishers.  Farther north, the SPAR Great Ireland Run had 8243 finishers, while in northern Italy the Milano City Marathon recorded 3435.  Also, last year’s first Brighton Marathon in England had 7412 finishers and will likely be bigger this year.

In North America, the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle will be the largest important event this weekend.  Capped at 40,000 entrants, last year’s race recorded 25,560 finishers.  Also in the Midwest, last year’s Go! St. Louis Marathon and Half Marathon piled up 13,681 finishers between the two events, and the Scotland Run 10K in New York City recorded 7734 finishers.  Near the American capital of Washington, D.C., the George Washington Parkway Classic in Alexandria, Va., had 4000 finishers in their marquis 10 mile race, plus 682 in the less-competitive 5K.

Other races on RRW’s radar screen this weekend include the Pear Blossom 10 Mile in Medford, Ore. (1580 finishers last year); the Debno Marathon in Poland (975); the Deutsche Post Marathon Bonn in Germany (1053); the Media Maratón Ciudad De Málaga in Spain (2976); and the OMV Linz Marathon and Half Marathon (3870 combined).  The Canberra Marathon in Australia wasn’t held last year, and the 2010 Daegu Marathon did not report finisher totals.

Of course, tens of thousands of runners will be competing in lesser-known road races throughout the world this weekend, making the actual finisher total much higher.