The Run Through of Marathon Races
The Athens Marathon celebrates the run of the soldier “Pheidippides” from the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message “Victory!”, then collapsed and died. The legend of Pheidippides was celebrated by a 40,000 meters run from Marathon Bridge to the Olympic stadium in Athens.
The first Marathon races were held back in 1896 at the Athens Olympics. The Athens Marathon is the original marathon course and it was the same course used in the 2004 Olympics that took place in Athens. The finish line for the Athens Marathon stands on the site of a stadium used in classical times.
At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, the marathon distance was changed to 26.2 miles to cover the ground from Windsor Castle to White City Stadium. The extra 2.2 miles was added on so the race could finish in front of royal family’s viewing box. This addition to the course is the origin of the Marathon tradition of shouting “God save the Queen!” (or other words relating to the Queen) as mile post 24 is passed. The distance was standardized for all marathons in 1921.
There are now marathons that take place all over the world with huge numbers of participants. The joy of running in a marathon is incomparable to anything other feeling. Being able to accomplish your dream is unlike any other. 26.2 miles of sweat, blood and tears to lead up the biggest moment of your life, crossing that finish line.
The evolution of marathon running has been extreme over the last 100 years. The number of participants has skyrocketed as well as volunteers and overall popularity. There were over 586,665 marathon finishers in North America alone in 2014. Even the progression of finish times is a huge difference from when marathons started. The first WR marathon holder was Johnny Hayes with the time of 2:55:18.4 at the London Olympics in 1908. The new and up to date record was set last year (2014) at the Berlin Marathon. The new WR was set by Dennis Kimetto with a time of 2:02:57.
The pace of marathon popularity doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. With more training programs and routines available for marathons, practically anyone can prepare for a marathon. If you want an experience of a lifetime, maybe it’s time to start training!
Beta version of DASHR is coming out soon. Sign up and train for your race with a perfect running partner! Request your invite here: dashrtheapp.com
