The marathon is a 26.2 mile race named after the Greek Battle of Marathon. It is an Olympic event and is run around the world on various terrains. The story of Pheidippides is a legend, and the modern marathon has a set course and time limit. Runners train extensively and monitor their physical health during the race.
A marathon is an endurance foot race covering 26 miles, 385 yards (42.2 kilometers). Named after the Greek Battle of Marathon, which occurred in 490 BC In addition to being an Olympic event for both men and women, marathons are run around the world on a variety of terrain types by athletes at various skill levels. To perform well in a marathon, an athlete undergoes a vigorous bout of training to build endurance and learn their physical limits.
According to legend, after the Greeks were victorious over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon, they sent a runner to Athens with the news. The runner, Pheidippides, ran the full distance to Athens without stopping, announced victory and then dropped dead, due to the physical strain on his body caused by the long run. A number of authors have included the story in poems and songs, including Robert Browning in 1876. Browning’s poem inspired Michel Breal, who organized the revival of the Olympic Games in 1896 and included a marathon.
History, however, seems to suggest that Pheidippides was actually sent from Athens to Sparta to request assistance from Marathon. So told the story Herodotus, who wrote extensively about the Greco-Persian wars. A runner was certainly sent from Marathon to Athens to report the news, but it may not have been Pheidippides, and the journey was probably not completed without a single stage.
In a modern marathon, organizers have established a race course that meets the distance requirements established at the 1908 Olympic Games in London. Depending on the race, riders start all together in a mass start or are dispatched in waves, separated by gender and ability. The course is left open for a set amount of time, usually around four hours, and riders who fail to complete the course are picked up and driven to the finish line. In marathons with a larger group of less experienced runners, the course may be left open longer, to allow them to finish.
Long distance running is very demanding on the body. Runners have an extensive training program that combines endurance running with rest so that the body is not harmed. They also monitor their physical health during the race in an effort to maintain proper electrolyte balance so they don’t suffer from hyponatremia, a potentially dangerous condition caused by an imbalance of salts in the body. It’s common to feel sore and have a depressed immune system after running a marathon.
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