The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), 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, 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, while larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.
Read more about Marathon: Distance, Marathon Races, Running, Health Risks, Charity Involvement
Other articles related to "marathon":
... On her debut over the marathon distance at the Venice Marathon in 2009, she finished as the runner-up with a time of 22841 hours, second to veteran Kenyan athlete Anne Kosgei ... She competed at the RAK Half Marathon the following February and made the top ten with a run of 11052 ... She was announced as one of the elite foreign competitors for the 2010 Boston Marathon in April, but she failed to match her Venice performance and ...
... Position Round Results Ayele Seteng Men's Marathon 19 F 222.27h SB Zvadya Wodage Men's Marathon 34 F 229.21h Asaf Bimro Men's Marathon 40 F 231.34h Team Israel Men's Marathon WC 7 F 723.22h ...
... Mihalić participated in the marathon at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, finishing 12th, in a time of 22152.6 ... retired from sport in 1966 by winning his last race, the Kadinjača mini-marathon in Užice ... (12 over 10,000 m and 2 over 5000 m), but never won a national marathon championship ...
... Climate data for Marathon, Ontario Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 3 (37) 7 (45) 13 (55) 20 (68) 25 (77 ...
Famous quotes containing the word marathon:
“The mountains look on Marathon—
And Marathon looks on the sea;
And musing there an hour alone,
I dreamed that Greece might still be free;
For standing on the Persians’ grave,
I could not deem myself a slave.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“In their eyes I have seen
the pin men of madness in marathon trim
race round the track of the stadium pupil.”
—Patricia K. Page (b. 1916)
“... marathon swimming is the most difficult physical, intellectual and emotional battleground I have encountered, and each time I win, each time I touch the other shore, I feel worthy of any other challenge life has to offer.”
—Diana Nyad (b. 1949)