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The marathon is a long-distance Road Running event of 42.195 km (26.22 miles).


HISTORY


The name "marathon" comes from the legend of Pheidippides , a Greek soldier who, according to legend, was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been miraculously defeated in the Battle Of Marathon . It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping, but moments after proclaiming his message to the city, he collapsed dead. There is no evidence that any such event took place; according to the Greek historian Herodotus , Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta . The legend that he ran from Marathon to Athens was invented by later writers and appears in Plutarch 's ''On the Glory of Athens'' in the 1st century AD. The International Olympic Committee estimates the distance from the Marathon battlefield to Athens as 34.5 km (21.4 miles).

The idea of organizing the race came from Michel Bréal , who wanted to put the event on the program of the First Modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was heavily supported by Pierre De Coubertin , the founder of the modern Olympics, as well as the Greeks. The Greeks staged a selection race for the Olympic marathon, and this first marathon was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes.
Spiridon "Spiros" Louis , a Greek shepherd, finished fifth in this race but won at the Olympics in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 50 seconds, despite stopping on the way for a glass of Wine from his uncle waiting near the village of Chalandri. The women's marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics ( Los Angeles , USA ).


DISTANCE

The length of a marathon was not fixed, since all that was important was that all athletes competed on the same course. The exact length of an Olympic Marathon varied depending on the route established for each venue.

The choice of distance was somewhat arbitrary. The first Olympics in 1896 had a marathon distance of 40 km. The starting point for the 1908 Olympic marathon in London was modified so that the Royal Family could have a good view and the length happened to be 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards). For the next Olympics in 1912, the length was changed to 40.2 km and changed again to 42.75 km for the 1920 Olympics. Of the first 7 Olympic Games , there were 6 different marathon distances between 40 and 42.75 km (40 km being used twice).

A fixed distance of 42.195 km was adopted in 1921 by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) as the official marathon distance.


WORLD RECORDS AND "WORLD'S BEST"

World Records were not officially recognised by the IAAF until 1 January 2004 ; previously, the best times for the Marathon were referred to as the 'world best'. Courses must conform to IAAF standards for a record to be recognised. However, marathon routes still vary greatly in elevation, course, and surface, making exact comparisons impossible. Typically, the fastest times are set over relatively flat courses near sea level, during good weather conditions and with the assistance of pacesetters.

The world record time for men over the distance is 2 hours 4 minutes and 55 seconds, set in the Berlin Marathon by Paul Tergat of Kenya on September 28 , 2003 (ratified as the world record by the IAAF on 1st January 2004), an improvement of 20 minutes and 44 seconds since 1947 ( Marathon World Best Progression ). The world record for women was set by Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain in the London Marathon on 13 April 2003 , in 2 hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds. This time was set using male pacesetters - the fastest time by a woman without using a male pacesetter ('woman-only') was also set by Paula Radcliffe, again during the London Marathon, with a time of 2 hours 17 minutes and 42 seconds set on 17 April 2005 .

All-time men's best marathon times under 2h 10'30"

All-time women's best marathon times under 2h 30'00"


OLYMPIC TRADITIONS

Since the modern games were founded, it has become a tradition for the men's Olympic marathon to be the last event of the athletics calendar, with a finish inside the Olympic stadium, often within hours of, or even incorporated into, the closing ceremonies. This tradition was further enhanced by a much older tradition in the 2004 Summer Olympics , as the long-established route from Marathon to Athens ended at Panathinaiko Stadium, the venue for the 1896 Summer Olympics .


RUNNING A MARATHON



General

Completing a marathon is often considered to be a superhuman effort, but many coaches believe that it is possible for anyone who is willing to put in the time and effort.


Some do's for beginners

  • DO seek medical advice before starting your training, as to the general state of your health and well-being and whether you should be running.

  • Ideally, DO get at least twelve months' good quality running behind you, and several 10ks and half-marathons completed comfortably at least, before thinking of attempting a marathon.

  • DO research properly at the outset what running a marathon entails, and the amount and types of training you ought to be doing. Then ask yourself whether you are prepared to commit yourself to that amount of effort.

  • DO join a reputable running website, and communicate with other runners in the discussion forums there (e.g. in the Runner's World discussion forums ) about how to train properly for your chosen event, and other issues arising. There is plenty of free advice available out there from those who already know, and they will be happy to help.

  • DO buy proper footwear with plenty of cushioning, suitable for running.

  • DO try to train on softer ground and not on pavements, so far as you possibly can. This is kinder on your body.

  • DO train properly for your event (see 'training', below). Unless you train properly, probably you won't be able to run the marathon well but will end up disappointing yourself by walking much of the second half, or dropping out entirely. If you train properly, however, you should reap the reward by being able to run the whole way, and feel very satisfied with yourself at achieving that feat.

  • DO start your training for a particular marathon slowly, at least six months in advance, increasing mileage gradually, without trying to do too much too soon.

  • DO include several half marathons at least, during the six months before your chosen marathon event. Ideally, time your last Half Marathon to be about one month before the full marathon.

  • In addition to your daily training, DO complete one long run each week, building that long run up gradually from about eight miles (at the start of your training) to about twenty miles (near the end of your training). That weekly long run should be an 'LSD' (='long slow distance') run: taken at a slow steady pace without pressing yourself too hard, and keeping going, to get your body used to running a long way without stopping.

  • DO include at least one rest day each week in your schedule: a day on which you won't run. This gives your body a chance to relax and recover. (E.G. You might prefer to have either the day before, or the day after, your weekly long run, as your weekly rest day.)

  • DO stop your training if illness or injury suggests you ought. Your long-term health is far more important than completing a marathon.

  • On the big day, DO aim to ''run'' your marathon all the way, without any walking, if at all possible. Running a marathon is supposed to be about ''running it'', not about walking the last eight or ten miles in order to get round the course. And remember the story about the hare and the tortoise: it is better to start off more slowly and manage to keep running all the way than to go off too fast only to peter out and end up walking much of the tail end of the event and be overtaken by the people who started slower than you and conserved their energy better.



Some don'ts for beginners

  • DON'T try to do too much training too soon. Build up slowly.

  • DON'T do too much running if you are seriously overweight. You may damage hips, knees, ankles, or suffer some other injury. Get the weight off first, by eating less and exercising more, before training for a marathon.

  • DON'T attempt a marathon if, for some reason, you haven't done enough training or you become ill or injured in some significant way, or have other serious health concerns about yourself. Drop out. Do it on some other occasion rather than now. There will always be plenty of marathons next year, or the year after, which you can do instead.



Training

For most runners, the marathon is the longest run they have ever attempted. Many coaches believe that the most important element in marathon training is the long run. Usually recreational runners try to reach a maximum of about 20 miles (32.2 km) in their longest weekly run and about 40 miles (64.4 km) a week in total, when training for the marathon. More experienced marathoners may run a longer distance, and more miles or kilometres during the week. Greater weekly training mileages can offer greater results in terms of distance and endurance, but also carries a greater risk of training injury. Most male elite marathon runners will have weekly mileages of over 100 miles (160.9 km) per week.1