Greece cancels elite race at Athens Marathon

The economic woes in Greece have spilled over into the world of elite marathon running.

The Athens Marathon’s race organizers noted earlier this week that, due to the country’s ongoing, severe financial crisis, that elites would not be formally invited to compete in the race and prize money — a staple at major marathons around the world — would not be paid out. The race is the country’s largest.

Still, that doesn’t mean the historic route will be empty; organizers are expecting the largest field ever in the race’s long history. About 16,000 runners are expected to show up for the Nov. 8 event, many from abroad running the event as a destination race.

The Athens marathon begins in Marathon and follows, roughly, the route storied to have been run by an Athenian messenger with word of a victory over the Persians in the 490BC Battle of Marathon. The event became the namesake of the race distance.

The Athens Marathon was also the route run in the first Modern Olympics in Athens in 1896. It has been regularly contested since 1972.

*An earlier version of this stated the distance between Marathon and Athens was the reason for the race’s distance. That is not the reason.