An Iranian sports official says the country’s northwestern city of Tabriz is going to plays host to its first international marathon in decades.
Head of Sport Organization of Tabriz Municipality, Alireza Rahimi, said the tournament will most likely be held in late May or late September when the weather condition is favorable for athletes to run an official distance of 42.195 kilometers (26.21875 miles).
Rahimi added that officials from Tabriz Municipality, East Azarbaijan province as well as the Islamic Republic of Iran Athletics Federation will have a meeting next week, during which they will discuss the necessary permits as well as the timetable.
Marathon was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, who was a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens.
Even though marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, its distance was standardized in 1921.
More than 500 marathon competitions are held across the world annually, and a great proportion of participants are recreational athletes.
