About
The marathon commemorates the legend of Pheidippides, who allegedly ran from Marathon to Athens (about 40 km) in 490 BCE to announce the Greek victory over Persia, then collapsed and died. The modern marathon was introduced at the first Olympic Games in Athens in 1896; the current distance of 26.2 miles (42.195 km) was standardized in 1921.
The World Marathon Majors — Boston, Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York — attract over 50,000 runners each. The world record stands at 2:00:35 (Eliud Kipchoge, 2023). Kipchoge also ran 1:59:40 in a non-official event, becoming the first person to run a marathon in under 2 hours.
# Top 10 Marathon Running facts
- 1Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in 1:59:40 in 2019 — the first human to break the 2-hour barrier (unofficial)
- 2The marathon distance of 42.195 km was standardized so British royalty could watch from Windsor Castle to the Olympic stadium
- 3The first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon was Kathrine Switzer in 1967 — a race official tried to physically remove her
Fascinating Facts
- ◆Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in 1:59:40 in 2019 — the first human to break the 2-hour barrier (unofficial)
- ◆The marathon distance of 42.195 km was standardized so British royalty could watch from Windsor Castle to the Olympic stadium
- ◆The first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon was Kathrine Switzer in 1967 — a race official tried to physically remove her
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