Ahead of the big day there will also be a concert and an event to mark the history of the Marathon in the centre of Athens, during which the organizers will also honor famous veteran Marathon athletes, such as Italian Stephano Baldini, who won the 2004 Olympic Games Marathon in Athens and Constantina Dita from Romania who won the 2008 Olympic Games Marathon in Beijing.

Referring to Chinese peoples' passion with the Marathon, as well as the Oympics, Kanellopoulos noted that there is a digital screen in China which marks how many Marathons are held every day across the globe.

For this year's Athens Classic Marathon Greeks have furthermore organized a lighting ceremony for the Marathon Race Flame and a torch relay similar to the ones held for the Olympic Games, this time in Marathon.

This year's race is dedicated to the memory of Grigoris Lambrakis, Balkan Games Champion, member of Greek parliament and pacifist who in 1963 organized the first Peace Marathon race and was assassinated shortly afterwards.

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