Legend has it that Queen Alexandra, the wife of then reigning monarch Edward VII, requested that the marathon start in the grounds of Windsor Castle — to enable the youngest members of the Royal Family to watch from their nursery windows. The finish line would be in front of the Royal Box at the Olympic Stadium, which was a distance of This was later adopted as the standard distance for a marathon race, by the International Amateur Athletic Association in Participants will then race through Greenwich before crossing the Thames at Tower Bridge.
Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram. Then the Olympics came to London. It wasn't supposed to be that way.
Like previous races, the original event was supposed to cover a ballpark of 25 miles. The royal family, however, had other plans: They wanted the event to start directly in front of Windsor Castle—as the story goes , the royal children wanted to see the start of the race from the castle nursery.
Officials duly agreed and moved the starting line, tacking on an extra mile to the race. As for the pesky final 0. Bounding on foot over terrain most of us would balk at, he owned his sacred role of messenger for the country of Greece. Many today might express that running is their life, and for Pheidippides, it truly was.
When the Persian Army settled into Marathon and was on the verge of conquering Athens, it was Pheidippides they turned to for a very important task.
Considered the best runner of their fleet, he was chosen by the Athenian Generals to run to Sparta to seek help from the Spartans. Knowing they were outnumbered, they needed more men. So, over the course of 36 hours, he ran the miles without sleep to plead for their aid. Upon receiving the answer, he turned around to deliver the devastating news to his leader that they would be on their own.
The battle ensued and Pheiddipides was there to witness the end. Though a sea of dead from both sides spread over the coastal city of Marathon, Athens seized victory. Pheidippides retraced his route back home — 25 miles away, having been charged to deliver the good news, The tale is that Pheidippides, having exhausted himself to the point of no return, collapsed upon his arrival. He died immediately following his announcement of the successful mission. It all sounds pretty amazing, right?
Unfortunately, the account of the story is said to be altered quite a bit. Either way, his abilities captured the attention of many and he became a hero. Eventually, the legend evolved into an Olympic sport. Stories like that of Pheidippides allow us to see the abilities humans can possess when faced with adversity. In , an estimated 25, runners finished marathons in the United States; by , the estimated number of competitors who completed a But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
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