Marathon

marathon
The first modern marathon race was held at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896 and covered a distance of 24.85 miles. The winner of this race was a Greek, Spiridon Louis, who ran the race in 2:58:50. The marathon honors the feat of a Greek soldier, Pheidippides, who, in 490 BC, ran approximately 25 miles from Marathon to Athens to deliver the news of the Athenian victory over the Persians - and then died. At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, the marathon distance was changed to 26 miles to cover the ground from Windsor Castle to White City stadium, with 385 yards added on so the race could finish in front of the royal family's viewing box. However, the official distance of the modern Olympic marathon race, 26 miles 385 yards, was not established until 1924. The Boston Marathon, one of the more famous marathon races, began in 1897.