An Ancient History

The Marathon

In 492 BC, Darius I, ruler of the vast Persian empire sent his navy and ground forces across the Aegean seas to invade Greece as punishment for the small country’s military support of Ionia in an earlier revolt. They landed at the plain of Marathon where a defensive force of Athenian hoplites met them for battle. Hoplites are citizen-soldier spearmen that fought in phalanxes of soldiers standing close enough for each one’s shield to not only protect themselves but the warrior beside them too. This group, outnumbered and less professionally trained, surprised the confident Persians and decisively beat them in a bloody encounter. As the Persian ships withdrew and rounded the highlands to surprise the Athenians in their backyard, a lone messenger set off on foot for a run that would change history. As legend tells, the messenger, Pheidippides, arrived at Athens to tell of the victory at Marathon before dying of exhaustion on the floor of the forum. Troops amassed to defend the city and the Persians, seeing the trouble ahead turned their ships around. The Greek civilization would dominate western history for centuries to come.

Dorando Pietri At The 1908 Olympic Games

In 1896, at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, the organizers were looking for a way to stir national pride and enthusiasm and they found it by recreating the legendary journey of the beloved messenger as a foot race. At first, the marathon was not a set length and would vary at each games as the organizers wished. In 1908, at the games in London, a diminutive Italian runner, Dorando Pietri led for much of the race. In the final yards, within a stadium where even the Queen had come to enjoy the spectacle, he lurched and staggered towards the finish dangerously close to complete collapse. Officials swooped in to carry him across the line,  disqualifying him from the race despite his valiant attempt. Though the gold medal was given to another runner, the little Italian’s story and the dramatic olympic race popularized the marathon around the world. In recognition of the history that was made on that day, the International Amateur Athletic Federation set the official length of the marathon to the length of the run on that day-26 miles, 385 yard (26.2 miles) It is now the official marathon distance. The marathon continues to have an honored place at the Olympic Games as the last official event often finishing just before or as part of the closing ceremonies.

The Start Of The New York City Marathon

Today, millions of people race in marathons to connect with this history and face this challenge. Prestigious races take place each year in Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, and Honolulu. Many other marathons attract racers to exotic locations and give everyone an opportunity to participate. Most racers aim simply to finish. My goal will be to qualify for the Boston Marathon, the oldest annually-run marathon in the world. I’ll need to complete the course in Denver in less than three hours and ten minutes. The current world record in the marathon, set by Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie in September of 2008, is 2 Hours 3 minutes and 59 seconds. This means that he ran a 4:41-minute mile for all 26.2 miles of the race.