The modern marathon is a long-distance race, completed by running, walking, or a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair divisions. The marathon has an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 miles; 26 miles 385 yards), usually run as a road. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens, who reported the victory.
The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.
The name Marathon comes from the legend of Philippides or Pheidippides, the Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon (in which he had just fought), which took place in August or September, 490 BC. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming “we have won!”, before collapsing and dying.
The account of the run from Marathon to Athens first appears in Plutarch’s On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD, which quotes from Heraclides Ponticus’s lost work, giving the runner’s name as either Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles. Satirist Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD) first gives an account closest to the modern version of the story, but is writing tongue in cheek, and also names the runner Philippides (not Pheidippides).
There is debate about the historical accuracy of this legend. The Greek historian Herodotus, the main source for the Greco-Persian Wars, mentions Philippides as the messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta asking for help, and then ran back, a distance of over 240 kilometres (150 mi) each way. In some Herodotus manuscripts, the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta is given as Philippides. Herodotus makes no mention of a messenger sent from Marathon to Athens, and relates that the main part of the Athenian army, having fought and won the gruelling battle, and fearing a naval raid by the Persian fleet against an undefended Athens, marched quickly back from the battle to Athens, arriving the same day.
In 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem Pheidippides. Browning’s poem, his composite story, became part of late 19th century popular culture and was accepted as a historic legend.
When the modern Olympics began in 1896, the initiators and organizers were looking for a great popularizing event, recalling the glory of ancient Greece. The idea of a marathon race came from Michel Bréal, who wanted the event to feature in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was heavily supported by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, as well as by the Greeks. The Greeks staged a selection race for the Olympic marathon on 22 March 1896 that was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes (with the future winner of the introductory Olympic Games marathon, Spyridon “Spyros” Louis, coming in fifth at a second race two weeks later). The winner of the first Olympic marathon, on 10 April 1896 (a male-only race), was Spyridon Louis, a Greek water-carrier, in 2 hours 58 minutes and 50 seconds.
Athens Authentic Marathon 11 November 2019
The Athens Classic (authentic) Marathon is an annual marathon road race held in Athens, Greece, normally in early November. The race attracted 43,000 competitors in 2015 of which 16,000 were for the 42.195 km course, both numbers being an all-time record for the event. The rest of the runners competed in the concurrent 5 and 10 kilometres road races and the race-walking contest.
It is perhaps the most difficult major marathon race: the course is uphill from the 10 km mark to the 31 km mark – the toughest uphill climb of any major marathon. The course begins in the town of Marathon, where it passes the tomb of the Athenian soldiers, and it traces a path near the coast through Nea Makri. Following the steep rise, the course goes lightly downhill towards the city of Athens. It passes a statue of a runner (Ο Δρομέας) in the city centre before finishing up at the Panathinaiko Stadium; a site for athletics competitions in ancient times and the finishing point for both the 1896 and 2004 Olympic marathons.
Hermes
Mythological Greek God of Trade, Eloquence and Messenger of the Gods
Hermes was one of the 12 Olympian Gods and was god of trade, thieves, travellers, sports, athletes, and border crossings, guide to the Underworld. He was the second youngest Olympian god and was the son of ZEUS and Maia, one of the seven Pleiades and daughter of the Titan Atlas.
Hermes’ most distinctive attribute was the herald’s wand (Greek kerykeion,) but he was sometimes armed instead with a short sword. The god was clothed in a knee-length robe (chiton) with a short cloak (chlamys), winged boots, and a brimmed, traveller’s hat. The hat was often winged. Hermes gained his speed from his winged sandals which allowed him to fly like a bird and move like the wind.
As the god of boundaries and transitions, Hermes was known to be quick and cunning and had the ability to freely move between the mortal and divine worlds. It is this skill that made him a luck-bringing messenger to the gods and intermediary between mortals and the divine.
He is also the patron and protector of travellers, herdsmen, thieves, orators and wit, literature and poets, athletics and sports, invention and trade. In some myths Hermes is also depicted as a trickster where he would outwit the gods either for the good of humankind or for his own personal amusement and satisfaction.
Both Homer and Hesiod portrayed Hermes as the author of skilled or deceptive acts, and also as a benefactor of mortals.
Hermes would carry commands from Zeus to other gods and creatures such as when he told the nymph Calypso to set Odysseus free in Homer’s Odyssey. He also assisted the hero Perseus in his quest to slay the Gorgon Medusa, providing guidance and gifts from the gods.
Hermes had so many benefits as a hero that he became the inspiration for the DC superhero the Flash and Marvels Quicksilver.
www.parkrun.org.uk
parkrun organise free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in.
These events take place in pleasant parkland surroundings and they encourage people of every ability to take part; from those taking their first steps in running to Olympians; from juniors to those with more experience; so why not get your trainers on and join in. Have fun.
George Georgiou
Source: www.nationalgeographic.org
Illustration: Tom Lovell, Wikipedia, www.parkrun.org.uk and www.issuu.com
