The Athens Marathon is recognized as the original marathon course and its the same course used in the 2004 Olympics held in Athens. The first modern Olympic games were held in 1896 in Greece. The legend of Pheidippides was honored by a 24.85 mile (40,000 meters) run from Marathon Bridge to Olympic stadium in Athens. Athens Stadium, the finish line for the Athens Marathon stands on the site of a stadium used in classical times. Spiridon Louis, a Greek postal worker, won the first modern Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 58 minutes, 50 seconds. At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, the marathon distance was changed to 26.2 miles to cover the ground from Windsor Castle to White City Stadium, with the 2.2 miles added on so the race could finish in front of royal familys viewing box. This added two miles to the course, and is the origin of the Marathon tradition of shouting God save the Queen! (or other words relating to the Queen) as mile post 24 is passed.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 11:17:37 +0000
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