The Israel Marathon Association said Thursday that the Association of International Marathons and Distances Races has displayed a "discriminatory nature" against next month's Bible Marathon from central Israel to the Samarian Jewish community of Shiloh, according to the Associated Press.
Organizers call the route, tracing a path described in the Book of Samuel, the oldest recorded marathon in history. The Greek-based association said it had to exclude the marathon to comply with international law, adding that that the route "will certainly result in great anger" among runners around the world. The Israeli association asked it to reconsider, noting that it has long recognized the Laayoune Marathon in the disputed Western Sahara region.