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The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of 42.195 kilometres (c. 26 mi 385 yd), [1] usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy.
Thousands of years later, marathon running became part of world sports, starting at the inaugural Marathon in the 1896 Modern Olympic Games. After around 40 years of various distances, the 42.195 kilometer (26.2) mile trek became standard. The number of marathons in the United States has grown over 45 times in this period. [2]
The race distance varied from 40 to 42 kilometres (25 to 26 mi) in the early editions as it was typically based upon the distance between two points that the organisers felt were suitable. The 1908 London Olympics marked the introduction of the standard distance of 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 km). [2]
A marathon is always measured by the same distance: 26.2 miles, but the time it takes to finish depends on your fitness level, training and the course itself.
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According to Joe Muldowney, at the time "most Americans had no idea what the marathon was, let alone its weird 26.2-mile distance. Some folks may have heard of the Boston Marathon, an event that had been held since 1897, but few Americans had the desire to tackle the race itself." [24] [25]
Among the 20,000 runners at Saturday’s St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend, including a record 1,350 St. Jude patient family member teams, was 17-year-old Tyler West.
' Son of Pheídippos ') or Philippides (Φιλιππίδης) is the central figure in the story that inspired the marathon race. Pheidippides is said to have run 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of the victory of the Battle of Marathon, and, according to Herodotus, to have run from Athens to Sparta.