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QUOTES FROM RUNNERS IN 2008

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2009 LEICESTER MARATHON OCTOBER 11TH

Results now on-line with chip times and marathon splits

FULL marathon results - HALF marathon results

Some finishers in the Leicester Marathon and half - a few more pictures on the photo page

LEICESTER MARATHON - LEICESTER MERCURY SPORTS EVENT OF THE YEAR 2007

Organisers of the Leicester Marathon said they were "over the moon" to win the Event of the Year honour at the Leicester Mercury Sports Awards. The race returned to the city last October for the first time in nearly 20 years, and was a huge success. Around 1,600 runners tackled the 13-mile half-marathon and the gruelling 26.2-mile course, and crowds flocked to various parts of the course on a glorious Sunday morning to cheer on the athletes. Race director Christian Weikert-Picker was delighted with how the day went, and is thrilled the event gained recognition at the ceremony at De Montfort Hall earlier this month. He said: "We were over the moon to win the award. We were delighted to get the invitation to the ceremony, but were naive to the fact we had won it." Weikert-Picker has big plans for the race this year, and outlined his hopes to the Mercury earlier this month. He said gaining the Event of the Year honour, which was sponsored by the Fire Station, has already given organisers "energy" towards the goal of making this year's event even better. He said: "It gives us a lot of energy looking to this year's marathon. It has already provided us with a big boost. "Being the sports event of the year means everything to us, and people are already showing interest in helping us this year. It is a win-win situation for us." Among plans for the race on Sunday, October 19, is an increase in the number of runners to 5,000, and a city-centre finish. Weikert-Picker said: "We want to treble the number of runners (to 5,000), and we're busy looking at a brand-new route which would accommodate the numbers we can foresee. "Some parts of the course last year weaved a little too much, and we need to look at that, but also we'd like a city-centre finish. "We're definitely looking to start in Victoria Park again as it lends itself to a mass start, but a city-centre finish would be great, and would also do away with the uphill mile to last year's finish." To stage the race on this scale, Weikert-Picker thinks it may cost double the £30,000 lay-out from this year. If anyone is interested in sponsorship, Weikert-Picker can be contacted on 0116 231 8431.

PHOTO AND WRITE UP COURTESY OF THE LEICESTER MERCURY.