In its edition of November 26, 1982, the Herald reported: “Farnham has never seen anything quite like it. Some, 2,000 men and women from all over Britain, and even beyond, headed for the broad and gracious Castle Street, with its imposing backdrop of Farnham Castle, and packed it”.
The first London Marathon only took place the year before, in 1981, and more than 20,000 applied – but only 6,747 were accepted.
To get so many athletes together for the first-ever Farnham Castle Marathon was an extraordinary achievement so hats off to all the organisers and volunteers. The first event was won by local athlete, Mick Woods – and he also won it for the next three years, too!
Since that event, Farnham has had an impressive record of organising and promoting community fitness events, such as running and cycling, but the ‘Magical Marathon’ of 1982 – and the buzz it created in Castle Street – will always be a hard one to beat.
Celebrating 50 events over 50 years in Farnham
The above is part of a series of articles looking back at the Herald archive to mark the 50th anniversary of the dissolution of the Farnham Urban District Council (FUDC) in 1974.
Did you know that from 1895 until 1974, exactly 50 years ago on Monday this week, the Farnham Urban District Council (FUDC) was the local authority responsible for Farnham and district?
Local authorities all over the country were affected by the 1972 Local Government Act on the reorganisation and reform of local government which came into effect on April 1, 1974.
Locally, it saw the FUDC disbanded and the creation of Waverley District Council, which also covered Godalming, Haslemere and Cranleigh and many villages in between.
The FUDC was effectively dissolved at the end of March 1974. To acknowledge that milestone in Farnham’s long and proud history, in coming weeks Peeps into the Past will feature 50 events over those 50 years.
