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Friday is a huge day in the Olympic world, as the International Olympic Committee, meeting in Copenhagen, will announce where the 2016 summer Olympic games will be held. The four finalists are Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

This is a history changing moment for all of the cities involved. President Obama is even going to Copenhagen to make a personal pitch as to why Chicago should be awarded the games. He’s the first American President to make such a pitch but it is not unprecedented. Then British Prime Minster Tony Blair made a similar pitch before London was awarded the 2012 games and Russian President Vladimir Putin did the same before Russia was given the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

The marathon is a centerpiece of the Olympic games. It was one of the first events proposed for the modern Olympics as a way of showcasing the games. It is a tradition of the modern games that the men’s marathon be the last event of the Olympics and finish inside the Olympic stadium, often within hours of - and sometimes even a part of - the closing ceremonies.

Spiridon "Spiros" Louis, a greek water-carrier, won the first Olympic marathon (men only) in 1896, running 2:58:50. The women’s marathon debuted in Los Angeles in 1984, won by Joan Benoit Samuelson in 2:24:52. The Olympic men's record is 2:06:32, set at the 2008 Summer Olympics by Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya. The women's record is 2:23:14 set by Naoko Takahashi of Japan at the 2000 games in Sydney.

Given the marathons importance to the Olympics, The Biz Runner has gone through all four of the potential host city’s official bid books to look at what is being proposed for 2016 Olympics.

In the spirit of the games – we give Gold, Silver and Bronze:

Gold: Tokyo

Tokyo takes the top prize because it’s obvious they have given a great deal of thought to the marathon route and its reflected in their official bid, which gives the greatest detail on the proposed route.

For 2016, Tokyo Olympic organizers are looking to bridge the old with the new. The race would start at the 1964 Olympic stadium and end at the new 2016 stadium, passing through the heart of the city.

The course includes a loop during the middle stretch (loops are an IOC favorite as a way of making it easy for spectators to view the race. London will have a loop as well).

The route will take runners will past:

Tokyo’s Imperial Palace
The Ginza shopping district (Japan’s equivalent of Fifth Ave, Rodeo Drive or the Champs Elysee shopping districts),
The neighborhood of Akihabara (aka “Electric Town”, one of Tokyo’s most eclectic and youth oriented neighborhoods.)

The final stretch of the marathon will be run through Tokyo Bay itself, through a series of reclaimed islands, before reaching the proposed 100,000 seat Olympic stadium designed by decorated architect Tadao Ando.

In the bid Tokyo officials also point out the restrictions they have implemented within the city to improve the air quality – enhancing the experience for the runners.

All in all, it’s a very detailed and well thought out plan – bridging the old and new and showcasing the city well. Tokyo takes the Gold.

Silver: Rio de Janeiro

Rio is also using the marathon to showcase the city. The route will begin and end at the famous Sambodromo, home of Rio’s annual Carnaval parade. It is a 30,000 seat stadium built for the purpose of watching carnival parades.

Runners will go past world famous attractions such as Copacabana (a borough of Rio and tourist hotbed with over 60+ hotels in the district and home to one of he most famous beaches in the world) and Ipanema (home to another world famous beach and countless shops and cafes, one of the most expensive and ritziest neighborhoods in Rio).

Looming over parts of the race course will be the famous Sugar Loaf Mountain.

Sun, surf, mountains? What’s not to like? Rio gets the Silver.

Bronze: Chicago

This was a really tough call. I’ve run the Chicago Marathon and it remains the favorite of all the marathons I’ve run. The Chicago Marathon is regarded as one of the best marathons in the world – and rightfully so. It’s a mass event with a small race feel (in terms of planning and execution) and Carey Pinkowski is one of the top race organizers in the world.

Chicago’s proposed Olympic marathon route is nearly identical to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon for 23 miles. The last three miles of the race are rerouted to go through the proposed South Shore Olympic Park and finish in the Olympic Stadium located in Washington Park.

Pinkowski helped design the Olympic Course and summed it as follows:

"It was a very basic process. What they were looking for was
replicating what we were able to do with the Chicago Marathon. It's fast, it showcases some of the neighborhoods and there's been some great performances on it."