The event was first held in 1894 - two years before the revival of the Olympic Games in Athens and three before the Boston Marathon started.

The Hamilton Herald newspaper and local shop owner Billy” Carroll organised and sponsored the first race held over 19 miles on Christmas Day, which, besides being an opportunity for top local races to race against each other, also gave gamblers the chance to bet on the winners.

Now held over 30 kilometres, this year’s event was cancelled for the first time since 1962 because of COVD-19.

Other races who will receive Plaques, awarded for "an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field athletics and of out-of-stadia athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain, road, trail and ultra-running, and race walking", include another North American event with a long history.

The YMCA Turkey Trot has been held in Buffalo in New York since 1896 to celebrate Thanksgiving.

The race proclaims itself to be the oldest continually running public footrace in North America, having established itself in 1896 and run every year since, even during World War One, the 1918 flu pandemic War Two and the current coronavirus pandemic, although this year's race will be a much smaller event. 

The Fukuoka Marathon, first held in 1947, is another road race to receive recognition.

A men’s only elite race, usually held in the first Sunday in December, it has been the setting for two world records.

The first saw Australia’s Derek Clayton run 2 hours 09min 36sec there in 1967.

Then, in 1981, another Australian runner, Rob de Castella, clocked 2:08:16.

Other road races awarded the Plaques includes the Bechovice 10k in the Czech Republic, the oldest uninterrupted footrace in Europe having been founded in 1897 which, in 120 years of its existence, has not been interrupted by the two World Wars

The list is completed by the Giro Podistico di Castelbuono, founded in Sicily in 1912, and the Kosice Peace Marathon in Slovakia, the oldest marathon in Europe having been first held in 1924.

“These six footraces represent some of the oldest sports events, let alone running races, in the world,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.

“They join others such as the marathons in Athens, Boston and Seoul, the Saint Silvester São Paulo, and Hakone Ekiden which we recognised last year.

“Together these races ooze athletics history.

“They represent what running is truly about: the record-breaking feats of the many great champions and the personal triumphs of the countless recreational and charity runners.

“We should also not forget the dedication and hard work of the officials and volunteers of the local clubs and organising committees which have kept these historic events on the roads for decades.”