The Longest Run

The marathon is the longest running race in the Olympic Games, covering a distance of 42.195 kilometers. The race is named after a place in Greece called Marathon, where a famous battle took place in 490 B.C. According to legend, a Greek soldier named Pheidippides ran all the way from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Greeks had won the war against the Persians.

Pheidippides ran about 40 kilometers without stopping. When he arrived in Athens, he shouted "We have won!" and then collapsed and died from exhaustion. To honor his bravery, a long-distance race was included in the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896.

The distance of the race was changed in the 1908 London Olympics. The King of England wanted the race to start at Windsor Castle so that his children could watch from their window. The distance from the castle to the stadium was exactly 42.195 kilometers. This became the official length of the marathon that is used today.

The Longest Run

The marathon is the longest running race in the Olympic Games, covering a distance of 42.195 kilometers. The race is named after a place in Greece called Marathon, where a famous battle took place in 490 B.C. According to legend, a Greek soldier named Pheidippides ran all the way from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Greeks had won the war against the Persians.

Pheidippides ran about 40 kilometers without stopping. When he arrived in Athens, he shouted "We have won!" and then collapsed and died from exhaustion. To honor his bravery, a long-distance race was included in the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896.

The distance of the race was changed in the 1908 London Olympics. The King of England wanted the race to start at Windsor Castle so that his children could watch from their window. The distance from the castle to the stadium was exactly 42.195 kilometers. This became the official length of the marathon that is used today.