The Interesting Story Behind Marathon Length
Olympic Marathon has a weird distance of 42.195 km. Why is it so?
Marathon is a form of endurance running event in which participants should run 42.195 km or 26 miles 365 yards. That’s not a whole number. How did the Olympic committee come up with this number is an interesting story.
History Of Marathon:
Before entering the marathon, let’s dive into a distance story. Let’s look into the marathon story itself and how it came into existence. If you think running a marathon is a battle, you are right. The legend of a marathon started from a battle. Athens army and invading Persian army clashed in the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. The battle, of course, as the name implies, happened in the town of Marathon. Persia wanted to bring Athens under its control, but the Athenian army gave a tough fight. Athenian army won the battle and sealed the Persian invasion for the time being. Here is where history takes a crossroads. Some accounts mention that a man named Pheidippides ran from the town of Marathon to Athens to deliver the victory message. After conveying the news, he collapsed and died. Another…
