MARATHON

long-distance footrace first held at the revival of the Olympic Games at Athens, Greece, in 1896. It commemorates the legendary feat of a Greek soldier who, in 490 BC, is supposed to have run from Marathon to Athens, a distance of about 40 kilometres (25 miles), to bring news of the Athenian victory over the Persians. Appropriately, the first modern marathon winner in 1896 was a Greek, Spyridon Louis. In 1924 the Olympic marathon distance was standardized at 42,195 metres, or 26 miles 385 yards. This was based on a decision of the British Olympic Committee to start the 1908 Olympic race from Windsor Castle and finish it in front of the royal box in the stadium at London. The marathon was added to the women's Olympic program in 1984. Because marathon courses are not of equal difficulty, the International Amateur Athletic Federation does not list a world record for the event. After the Olympic Games championship, one of the most coveted honours in marathon running is victory in the Boston Marathon, held annually since 1897. It draws athletes from all parts of the world and in 1972 became the first marathon to officially allow women to compete. The New York Marathon also attracts participants from many countries. Other popular marathons are held in London, Berlin, Rotterdam (Neth.), and Chicago. It was long considered necessary for a runner to prepare for a marathon by training over that distance. At the 1952 Olympic Games, however, Czech Emil Ztopek set an Olympic record of 2 hours 23 minutes 3.2 seconds, even though he had never run the distance before.