A record field of 287 runners competed in the 2009 Westlink M7 Cities Marathon held on Sunday 26 July. The marathon which started at Ash Reserve Liverpool took the runners along the Westlink M7 shared path for 30km before turning back towards the finish line at the Blacktown Olympic Park in Rooty Hill.

With prize money of $50,000, the marathon attracted a strong field including international runners from Kenya, Morocco, Finland and the United States.

At the finish only 13 seconds separated the first two runners with Kenyan Julius Maratim holding off a strong challenge from Ben Artup of Warrimoo to win the event for a second year in a time of 2 hrs 23 minutes and 12 seconds.

For the third year running, Magna Karimali-Poulos from Caringbah was the first female runner home in a time of 2 hrs 45 minutes and 01 seconds.

The first local runner home was Colin Johnston of Kellyville Ridge who came in 4^th with a time of 2 hrs 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

Westlink General Manager, Rachel Johnson said, "Westlink M7 was delighted to partner with Blacktown City Council, Liverpool and Fairfield to host this world class event. We are looking forward to continuing our sponsoring next year."

"Running a marathon is a real achievement - I would like to congratulate all the runners who competed in the 2009 Westlink M7 Cities Marathon," said Ms Johnson.

Men's Event
1^st Place Men's - Julius Maratim, Surrey Hills, 2:23:12
2^nd Place Men's - Ben Artup, Warrimoo, 2:23:35
3^rd Place Men's - Josphat Mwangi, Abbotsbury, 2:24:42
4^th Place Men's - Colin Johnston, Kellyville Ridge, 2:28:25
5th Place Men's - Mustapha Takeiddine, Kensington, 2:34:00

Women's Event
1^st Place Women's - Magda Karimali-Poulos, Caringbah, 2:45:01
2^nd Place Women's - Helen Stanton, North Lakes (QLD), 2:50:43
3^rd Place Women's - Johanna Parsons, Blaxland, 2:58:57
4th Place Women's - Verity Tolhurst, Cronulla, 3:12:27
5^th Place Women's - Sophia Young, Chatswood, 3:25:39

Relay Event
Open Male Team - O'Sullivan & Amy, 3:54:38
Open Female Team - Sheehan & Graves, 3:12:18
Open Mixed Team - Wylie & Baker, 2:52:46

To view the complete 2009 Westlink M7 Cities Marathon results visit www.multisportsaustralia.com.au.