The Avon International Marathon was an annual women's

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

event that was held at various locations from 1978 to 1984. Sponsored and organised by

Avon Products Avon Products, Inc. or simply known as Avon, is an American-British multinational cosmetics, skin care, fragrance and personal care company, based in London. It sells directly to the public. Avon had annual sales of $9.1 billion worldwide in 2 ...

, a beauty and household goods company, it was the longest distance race within the Avon International Women's Running Circuit, which was created with the aim of promoting elite and grassroots

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

for women. The circuit was headed by former runner

Kathrine Switzer Kathrine Virginia Switzer (born January 5, 1947) is an American marathon runner, author, and television commentator. In 1967, she became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon#History, Boston Marathon as an officially registered competitor. ...

, whose efforts had led to the formal acceptance of women at the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

. The

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

required the participation of a minimum of 25 countries in international competition in order to accept new events to the Olympic schedule, thus Avon focused on attracting runners from many nations.Avon, Women & the Olympics: Driving a Marathon Revolution
CSR Wire (2012-07-31). Retrieved 2020-07-19. The series was successful in its aim of establishing the marathon as a women's discipline, led by the International Runners' Committee, with the inaugural women's marathons at the 1982 European Championships and 1983 World Championship preceding the first women's Olympic marathon in 1984. The 1983 Avon International Marathon took place in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where the Olympic marathon race was hosted the following year. Although the Avon marathon was exclusively hosted in North America and Western Europe, its international focus was a boost to elite women's running outside of these regions – the

Tokyo International Women's Marathon The Tokyo International Women's Marathon was a marathon for female elite runners held in Tokyo from 1979 until 2008 in November. It was first held in November 1979, and this race was the first women's marathon officially sanctioned by the Inte ...

was established as the first women's race to receive sanction by the

International Amateur Athletic Federation World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

in 1979. The competition was one of several initiatives for

women's sport The participation of women and girls in sports, physical fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, and stage of econ ...

by Avon during the period, which also included the Avon Futures Tennis Championships.

Past events

References

;Editions
International Marathons
GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-07-19.

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved 2020-07-19. {{Defunct athletics competitions Women's marathons Recurring sporting events established in 1978 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1984