The race course began in the town of Marathon. Runners would cross Greece, finishing their race at the Panathenaic Olympic Stadium, 40 kilometers away. Still an amazing feat of endurance, and a distance that few of the 16 runners that day had ever run before.
With a time of , Spiridon Louis made a name for himself that day by taking first in the marathon and gaining a victory for his country of Greece. In those first few Olympic Games , the race deviated slightly from a perfect kilometer race.
Other than the fact that it was the exact distance between two decided on starting and ending points, it was essentially arbitrary. But it was a distance of 26 miles, yards At the turn of the century, marathons started to be organized outside the Olympics as well. The first Olympic marathon proved to be a success, so it was no surprise when the Boston Athletic Association wanted in on the action.
In order to complement the first Olympic Games in as well as Greek legend, the first Boston Marathon was only The distance changed to And it has been that way ever since.
For many years, only men were allowed to run this endurance race. Women had been excluded since the very first Olympic Games. With the marathon race coming a long way from its inception and becoming a firm For years women had already proved that they, too, could run the grueling distance. Both men and women of all abilities now have the opportunity to run a marathon. With over marathons scheduled for this year in North America alone, just about anyone has the opportunity to go the distance.
Just long enough to practically break you, but achievable nonetheless. Already mastered the marathon and want to recreate a distance similar to Pheidippides run to Sparta? How long is a marathon? Most often run as a road race, certified marathon courses are always The first official marathon, in , was The next few Olympic marathons varied in distance; the idea was that as long as all runners ran the same course, it was unnecessary to keep the distance exactly the same.
At the Olympics in London, Dorando Pietri of Italy pictured was the first finisher, but was subsequently disqualified for receiving assistance along the route. Upon entering the stadium, he had first turned the wrong way, and then collapsed several times. The clerk of the course and chief medical examiner ran to his aid — and receiving that assistance led to his DQ.
American Johnny Hayes, who had crossed 32 seconds after Petri, was then declared the marathon winner. In , the Olympics were held in London. A 25 mile course initially was set to begin in Windsor and finish at the newly built Olympic Stadium in White City. However, course planners received a request from the Queen, who asked that the starting line be moved to Windsor Castle so that Princess Mary and her children could watch from a window.
With the route change, a mile was added, and the course was now 26 miles. However, course amendments did not stop there. The next several Olympics saw a variety of distances for the marathon, but by the Olympiad in Paris, the 26 mile, yard distance was adopted by the IAAF as the official marathon length, and it has not changed since.
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