Purpose and mission of the association

On their return from New York where they attended their first marathon, the (future) of the London marathon organizers wrote in the Observer: "To believe this story, you must first believe that mankind can be a joyful family, working together, laughing together, achieving the impossible. Last Sunday, 11,532 women and men from 40 countries, supported by a million people, laughed, applauded, cheered and suffered during the greatest folk festival the world has ever known. "And to conclude:" we have a site, a beautiful site ... but do we have the heart and hospitality to welcome the world? "

The organization of a marathon is  first of all hospitality, friendliness, support for these few thousand fans who have decided to excel and to achieve a sporting current mythical distance of 42 km  , it  is a celebration of a city and its inhabitants.

Organizing  such a competition at the level of international standards is not easy. There are many constraints: The financial and material resources are insufficient, the people of Casablanca are not sensitive to such a mass sport . The perturbations induced by the event create many obstacles and difficulties which is not easy to be overcome while  organizing  such a marathon in our country. For this, we must adapt the requirements of this sporting and popular event to our conditions and our means.

This inevitably goes through three essential conditions:

The Rehabilitation  of the anonymous runner in the competition;

Taking into account the specificities of the city in the organizational options;

The appropriation of this event by the ‘Casablancais’, making of this day a city celebration.

The objectives of the organisers ensue: an action that favours a quality-oriented organization, with a gradual  increase in the number of participants, calling for massive support of  people of Casablanca to realise a festival of conviviality , good humour and solidarity ; thus emphasizing the values ​​of effort, perseverance, patience and altruism to our youth

The following points fall within this perspective. They are necessary and should eventually help to develop our international marathon status.
1 - Date:
The choice to participate in a marathon takes several months, let’s say one or two years in advance. In addition to the registration deadline imposed by the organizer, the runner must train hard for several months (3-4). The Marathon of Casablanca must take its place in the annual calendar of international competitions. This date must be immutable, announced one year in advance and included in the festive calendar of the city.
2 -  Local Colours’ Marathon  :
Nowadays several marathons in Europe and America witness more than 30,000 runners who line up. These prestigious marathons are popular with all runners  in the world. But there is also room for marathons at a human scale, combining adventure,  warmth, excitement and quality of organization. To attract runners from various horizons, the Casablanca Marathon must take into consideration the local characteristics at different levels: musical entertainment, providing dates, raisins, country fruit, couscous party ...
3 - Traffic Circuit:
It is the keystone of the organization of the race. The safety and comfort of the competitors depend on this point. Casablanca  is a city with a radio-concentric  plan, where all arteries converge towards the business centre and port. The plan of roads of the city has little or no work of art allowing traffic on several levels. To close the main boulevards such as Zerktouni, Route El Jadida, Brahim Roudani and Anfa  to traffic, is to paralyze the entire city.

Experience has shown that Casablanca can not afford the luxury of having a linear course or loop through the 42 km. Multiplying loops, adjusting shift schedules on major arteries, informing the population and scheduling alternative routes are all elements that would better control the various aspects of the organization: traffic, safety, food, health coverage, animation, attention of the viewers, etc.. ....

Currently, a closed circuit is no longer a problem thanks to the control of runners through the chip system and the under gantries electronic passages which are judiciously placed on the course. Top Runners are usually followed by the motorised commissioners, television cameras, etc. ....

4 - Animation:
Running from 3 to 6 hours is too long. The marathon runner is tough and resistant. But this is not enough to overcome the suffering and effort to cover the 42 km. The competitor needs all along the way emulation (competition with other runners), encouragement (spectators) and animation (breaking the monotony). Until we have more candidates in the Casablanca Marathon, the  animation of a smaller circuit by orchestras and folklore groups offer greater concentration to viewers.
5 - Adhesion of the population:
The marathon is the only sporting out door event with hundreds or thousands of competitors. Everywhere, this competition is the festival of the city where everyone is involved with a sporting spirit and fair play. The encouragement of the spectators for participants is essential for runners who look for moral support. The Casablanca residents should play this role and adopt this event.  For these reasons a program of information, publicity and public awareness should be started several months and at a  large-scale.