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- Marathons are a long distance sport that involve running a typical 42.195km (26.22 mile) track that is normally on a road or path.
- Hundreds of marathon events are held around the world every year, and many encourage participants of all ages, with shorter courses and fun activities.
- Marathons were part of the very first modern Olympics in 1896 in Athens and have been included in the programme ever since.
- Marathons have their origin in a 490 BC Greek legend of Pheidippides, a messenger of the Greeks, who is believed to have run many miles to deliver a message from the battlefield at Marathon, even though the story is said to be inaccurate.
- Marathons were created when the first modern Olympic games committee wanted another Greek derived event and the idea of a marathon was suggested by Michel Breál.
Marathon
Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid/Free Digital Photos
- The male marathon Olympic event is traditionally the last event in the Olympic Games, before the closing ceremony, and sometimes included as part of the final ceremony.
- Marathons often have disabled participants that race in wheel chairs, who usually start the race prior to anyone else.
- Marathoners normally don’t run marathons to win, but instead try for personal bests or to complete the race.
- People can store enough energy from carbohydrates for about 30 km (18.6 miles) of running, and when marathon runners use up this quick burning energy, they are said to have ‘hit the wall’ as their energy has to be derived from slow burning fat, so often the runner will suddenly feel extremely fatigued, and will find it difficult to keep running.
- Marathon participants are recommended to train regularly before a marathon, with a significant amount of running each week over a five or sixth month period.
Bibliography:
Marathon, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon>
