Competitors during the 2007 Berlin Marathon

Competitors during the 1990 London Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards),^[1] that is usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon (the namesake of the race) to Athens.

The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 500 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes. Smaller marathons, such as the Stanley Marathon, can have just dozens of participants,^[2] while larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.^[3]

History[link]

Origin[link]

Luc-Olivier Merson's painting depicting Pheidippides giving word of victory at the Battle of Marathon to the people of Athens

The name Marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon (in which he had just fought),^[4] which took place in August or September, 490 BC.^[5] It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "νικωμεν’ (nikomen)", We have won), before collapsing and dying.^[6] The account of the run from Marathon to Athens first appears in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD which quotes from Heraclides Ponticus's lost work, giving the runner's name as either Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles.^[7] Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD) also gives the story but names the runner Philippides (not Pheidippides).^[8]

There is debate about the historical accuracy of this legend.^[9][10] The Greek historian Herodotus, the main source for the Greco-Persian Wars, mentions Pheidippides as the messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta asking for help, and then ran back, a distance of over 240 kilometres (150 mi)^[11] each way.^[12] In some Herodotus manuscripts the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta is given as Philippides. Herodotus makes no mention of a messenger sent from Marathon to Athens, and relates that the main part of the Athenian army, having already fought and won the grueling battle, and fearing a naval raid by the Persian fleet against an undefended Athens, marched quickly back from the battle to Athens, arriving the same day.

In 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem Pheidippides. Browning's poem, his composite story, became part of late-19th century popular culture and was accepted as a historic legend.^{[citation needed]}

Mount Penteli stands between Marathon and Athens, which means that, if Pheidippides actually made his famous run after the battle, he had to run around the mountain, either from the north or from the south. The latter and more obvious route matches almost exactly the modern Marathon-Athens highway, which follows the lay of the land southwards from Marathon Bay and along the coast, then a gentle but protracted uphill westwards towards the eastern approach to Athens, between the foothills of Mounts Hymettus and Penteli, and then mildly downhill to Athens proper. This route, as it existed when the Olympics were revived in 1896, was approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi), but was later extended to the current standard marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles 385 yards, approximately 26.22 miles). However there have been suggestions that Pheidippides might have followed another route: a westward climb along the eastern and northern slopes of Mount Penteli to the pass of Dionysos, and then a straight southward downhill path to Athens. This route is considerably shorter, some 35 kilometres (22 mi), but features a very steep initial climb of more than 5 kilometres (3.1 mi).

Modern Olympics marathon[link]

1896 Olympic marathon

When the idea of a modern Olympics became a reality at the end of the 19th century, the initiators and organizers were looking for a great popularizing event, recalling the ancient glory of Greece. The idea of organizing a marathon race came from Michel Bréal, who wanted the event to feature in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was heavily supported by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, as well as the Greeks. The Greeks staged a selection race for the Olympic marathon on 10 March 1896 that was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes (with the future winner of the introductory Olympic Games marathon coming in fifth). The winner of the first Olympic Marathon, on 10 April 1896 (a male-only race), was Spyridon "Spyros" Louis, a Greek water-carrier. He won at the Olympics in 2 hours 58 minutes and 50 seconds.

The women's marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles, USA) and was won by Joan Benoit of the United States with a time of 2 hours 24 minutes and 52 seconds.^[13]

Since the modern games were founded, it has become a tradition for the men's Olympic marathon to be the last event of the athletics calendar, with a finish inside the Olympic stadium, often within hours of, or even incorporated into, the closing ceremonies. The marathon of the 2004 Summer Olympics revived the traditional route from Marathon to Athens, ending at Panathinaiko Stadium, the venue for the 1896 Summer Olympics.

The Olympic men's record is 2:06:32, set at the 2008 Summer Olympics by Samuel Kamau Wanjiru of Kenya.^[14] The Olympic women's record is 2:23:14, set at the 2000 Summer Olympics by Naoko Takahashi of Japan.^[15]

Marathon mania[link]

Johnny Hayes' victory at the 1908 Summer Olympics contributed to the early growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States.^[16][17] Later that year, races around the holiday season including the Empire City Marathon held on New Year's Day 1909 in Yonkers, New York, marked the early running craze referred to as "marathon mania".^[18] Following the 1908 Olympics, the first five amateur marathons in New York City were held on days that held special meanings to ethnic communities: Thanksgiving Day, the day after Christmas, New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, and Lincoln's Birthday.^[19]

Frank Shorter's victory in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics would spur national enthusiasm for the sport more intense than that which followed Hayes' win 64 years earlier.^[17] By 2009, an estimated 467,000 runners completed a marathon within the United States.^[20] This can be compared to 143,000 in 1980. Nowadays, various marathons are held all around the world on a nearly weekly basis.^[21]

Inclusion of women[link]

Long after the re-establishment of the marathon in the Olympics, distance races such as the marathon did not include female participants. Although a few women had run the marathon distance, they were not included in any official results.^[22] Marie-Louise Ledru has been credited as the first woman to race a marathon.^[23][24][25] Violet Piercy has been credited as the first woman to be officially timed in a marathon.^[22] For challenging the long-held tradition of all-male marathon running in the Boston Marathon, in 1967, Kathrine Switzer is regarded as the first woman to run a marathon as a numbered entry, but did so unofficially, due to a fluke in the entry process.^[26] Bobbi Gibb had completed the Boston race unofficially the previous year,^[27] and was later recognized by the race organizers as the women’s winner for that year, as well as 1967 and 1968.^[28]

Distance[link]

The length of a marathon was not fixed at first, since the only important factor was that all athletes competed on the same course. The marathon races in the first few Olympic Games were not of a set length, but were approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi),^[29] roughly the distance from Marathon to Athens by the longer, flatter route. The exact length of the Olympic marathon varied depending on the route established for each venue.

1908 Olympics[link]

The standard distance for the marathon race was set by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) in May 1921^{[30][dead link][31]} at a distance of 42.195 kilometres, and is stated as such in rule 240 of their Competition Rules.^[32] This seemingly arbitrary distance was the metric conversion of the 26 miles and 385 yard distance that was used for the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. At a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in The Hague in May 1907 it was agreed with the British Olympic Association that the 1908 Olympics would include a marathon of about 25 miles or 40 kilometres.^[33] In November 1907 a route of about that distance was published in the newspapers, starting at Windsor Castle and finishing at the Olympic Stadium, the Great White City Stadium in Shepherd's Bush in London.^[34] There were protests about the final few miles because of tram-lines and cobbles, so the route was revised to cross the rough ground of Wormwood Scrubs. This lengthened the route, as did plans to make the start 700 yards (640 m) from Queen Victoria's statue by Windsor Castle, and it was decided to fix the distance at 26 miles (42 km) to the stadium, plus a lap of the track (586 yards, 2 feet) (536 m),^[34] using the Royal Entrance as the marathon tunnel, and finishing in front of the Royal Box. For the official Trial Marathon on 25 April 1908, organized by the Polytechnic Harriers, the start was on ‘The Long Walk’ – a magnificent avenue leading up to Windsor Castle in the grounds of Windsor Great Park. For the Olympic Marathon itself the start was on the private East Terrace of Windsor Castle, with the permission of King Edward VII, so that the public would not interfere with the start.^[34] The Princess of Wales and her children drove from their home at Frogmore on the far side of Windsor Great Park to watch the start of the race.^[34][35] Shortly before the Games opened it was realized that the Royal Entrance could not be used as the marathon entrance—it was raised to permit easy descent by the royal party from their carriages, and did not open onto the track—so an alternative entrance was chosen, diagonally opposite the Royal Box. A special path was made just outside the Franco British Exhibition ground so that the distance to the stadium remained 26 miles (42 km). The finishing line was left unchanged, but in order that the spectators, including Queen Alexandra, could have the best view of the final yards, the direction of running was changed to "right-hand inside" (i.e. clockwise). This meant the distance in the stadium was shortened to 385 yards (352 m), and the total distance became 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km).^[34]