Marathon
A marathon is a long-distance running sport event where an athlete must run 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards).[1] There are many marathons held all over the world each year. It is a very difficult event and runners are advised to run many miles before they compete. This event was named after a battle of the Greco-Persian wars.
History
[change | change source]The famous battle of Marathon was fought in 490 B.C. An army from Persia came to fight the army of Athens. The army from Athens was not expected to win, but they did. After the victory, they sent their best runner, a man named Pheidippides back to Athens to tell everyone the good news. He ran about 25 miles and died of exhaustion when he arrived.
In 1896 the first modern Olympics was held. There was a race called the Marathon there. It was only about 25 miles (40 km) then.[2]
Records
[change | change source]In 2026 at the London Marathon, Sabastian Sawe became the first person to run an official marathon in under two hours. Tigst Assefa set the new women's world record at the same race, beating the record she set a year earlier.[3]
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The London Marathon also holds the record for the most finishers, with 59,830 people in 2026.[4]
Notes
[change | change source]
- ↑ "IAAF Competition Rules for Road Races". International Association of Athletics Federations. International Association of Athletics Federations. 2009. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
- ↑ "Marathon World Forum". Archived from the original on 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
- ↑ "Sabastian Sawe wins London Marathon as historic race sets records". BBC Sport. BBC. 2026-04-27. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
- ↑ "London Marathon Reclaims World Record for Largest Marathon With Nearly 60,000 Finishers". Runner's World. Hearst Magazines. 2026-04-27. Retrieved 2026-04-27.