Marathon

Marathon

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The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometers (26 miles 385 yards) that is usually run as a road race. The event is named after the legendary run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens. It was one of the original Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1924.

Contents

Distance

Year Distance
(kilometres)		 Distance
(miles)
1896 40 24.85
1900 40.26 25.02
1904 40 24.85
1906 41.86 26.01
1908 42.195 26.22
1912 40.2 24.98
1920 42.75 26.56
1924 onward 42.195 26.22

The length of a marathon was not fixed at first, since the only important factor was that all athletes competed on the same course. The marathon races in the first few Olympic Games were not of a set length, but were approximately 40 km,[1] roughly the distance from Marathon to Athens by the longer, flatter route. The exact length of the Olympic marathon varied depending on the route established for each venue.

The marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London was set to measure about 25K and to start on ‘The Long Walk’ – a magnificent avenue leading up to Windsor Castle in the grounds of Windsor Great Park. The Princess of Wales wanted her children to watch the start of the race, so the start of the race was moved to the east lawn of Windsor Castle, increasing its length to 26 miles.[1] The race was to finish at the Great White City Stadium in Shepherd's Bush in London; however, Queen Alexandra insisted on having the best view of the finish; so, in the words of the official Olympic report, "385 yards were run on the cinder track to the finish, below the Royal Box".[1] The length then became 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards or 26 7⁄32 miles).

2008 Olympic Trials

Main article: Olympic Marathon men
Main article: Olympic Marathon women

The women were selected in a special race conducted the day before the Boston Marathon and the men were selected in a special race conducted the day before the New York City Marathon.

World all-time top ten lists

Men
Time Athlete Country Date Place
2h03:59 Haile Gebrselassie Ethiopia Ethiopia 28 September 2008 Berlin
2h04:55 Paul Tergat Kenya Kenya 28 September 2003 Berlin
2h04:56 Sammy Korir Kenya Kenya 28 September 2003 Berlin
2h05:15 Martin Lel Kenya Kenya 13 April 2008 London Marathon
2h05:24 Samuel Wanjiru Kenya Kenya 13 April 2008 London Marathon
2h05:30 Abderrahim Goumri Morocco Morocco 13 April 2008 London Marathon
2h05:36 James Kwambai Kenya Kenya 28 September 2008 Berlin
2h05:38 Khalid Khannouchi United States United States 14 April 2002 London Marathon
2h05:49 William Kipsang Kenya Kenya 13 April 2008 Rotterdam Marathon
2h05:50 Evans Rutto Kenya Kenya 12 October 2003 Chicago Marathon
Women
Time Athlete Country Date Place
2h15:25 Paula Radcliffe Great Britain Great Britain 13 April 2003 London Marathon
2h18:47 Catherine Ndereba Kenya Kenya 7 October 2001 Chicago Marathon
2h19:12 Mizuki Noguchi Japan Japan 25 September 2005 Berlin
2h19:19 Irina Mikitenko Germany Germany 28 September 2008 Berlin
2h19:36 Deena Drossin Kastor United States United States 23 April 2006 London Marathon
2h19:39 Sun Yingjie China China 19 October 2003 Beijing
2h19:41 Yoko Shibui Japan Japan 26 September 2004 Berlin
2h19:46 Naoko Takahashi Japan Japan 30 September 2001 Berlin
2h19:51 Zhou Chunxiu China China 12 March 2006 Seoul
2h20:42 Berhane Adere Ethiopia Ethiopia 22 October 2006 Chicago Marathon
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Multiple marathons

As marathon running has become more popular, some athletes have undertaken to complete goals involving the running of a series of marathons. The most popular goal is to run a marathon in each state of the United States and the District of Columbia. Over 300 individuals have completed this circuit once and some have done it eight times.[2] Twenty-seven people have run a marathon on each of the seven continents,[3] and 31 people have run a marathon in each of the Canadian provinces.[4] In 2006, two people, Sam Thompson and Dean Karnazes, ran 50 marathon distances on 50 consecutive days in 50 different states. [5][6] In 1980, in what was dubbed the Marathon of Hope, Terry Fox ran the marathon distance each day for 143 consecutive days, using one artificial leg. [7] On February 8, 2009, John Wallace became the first person to run marathons in 100 different countries.[8] Previously, Wally Herman had run marathons in 99 different countries.

Other goals are to attempt to run marathons in a series of consecutive weekends (Richard Worley on 159 weekends),[9] or to run the most marathons during a particular year (e.g. Larry Macon ran 93 in 2007),[10] or the most in a lifetime. A pioneer in running multiple marathons was Sy Mah of Toledo, Ohio, who ran 524 before he died in 1988.[11] As of June 30, 2007, Horst Preisler of Germany had successfully completed 1,157 marathons plus 343 ultramarathons, a total of 1500 events at marathon distance or longer.[12] Norm Frank of the United States is credited with 945 marathons.[13] There are even clubs for people who have run 100 or more marathons; one such club has at least 45 members.[14]

On December 14, 2008, 64-year old Larry Macon set a record by running 105 marathons in a single calendar year.[15]

Some runners compete to run the same marathons for the most consecutive years. For example, John A. Kelley completed 58 Boston Marathons. Neil Weygandt has run 43 consecutive Bostons and Bennett Beach has run 42.[16]Four runners dubbed the "ground pounders" (Will Brown, Mattew Jaffe, Alfred Richmond, and Mel Williams) have completed all 32 Marine Corps Marathons.[17] Another mention for most consecutive marathons is Jerald Fenske, who has completed every Paavo Nurmi Marathon he has entered since his first in 1978 at age 17, a total of 30 through 2007. Team Hoyt has participated in 26 Boston Marathons with the father Dick Hoyt pushing his son in a wheelchair.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 J.Bryant, 100 Years and Still Running, Marathon News (2007)
  2. ↑ http://www.50anddcmarathongroupusa.com/finish1.cfm Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  3. ↑ 50&DC Marathon Group U.S.A
  4. ↑ 50&DC Marathon Group U.S.A
  5. ↑ starbulletin.com | News | /2006/07/13/
  6. ↑ Wired 15.01: The Perfect Human
  7. ↑ CBC Archives: television and radio spots on Terry Fox
  8. ↑ Hartill, Robin. "Marathon Maverikc", Longboat Observer, Feb. 19, 2009. Retrieved on 06-04-2009.
  9. ↑ Orton, Kathy. "Texan's Weekend Job Provides Great Benefits", The Washington Post, 2004-10-27, p. D4. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
  10. ↑ http://mm.littlemarathon.com/ScoreCard.asp Retrieved 2007-11-28
  11. ↑ http://edm.ouser.org/02/statue/n14se98d-symahstory.htm Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  12. ↑ 100 Marathon Club site (in German) Retrieved 2007-12-12
  13. ↑ 50 States & D.C. Marathon Group site Retrieved 2007-11-28.
  14. ↑ http://homepages.tesco.net/~roger.biggs/recvetted.html Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  15. ↑ Neil, Martha. "BigLaw Partner Sets World Record By Running 105th Marathon in a Year", ABA Journal, Dec 17, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-12-21.
  16. ↑ Vega, Michael. "Cheruiyot, Tune eventually wither in weather", Boston Globe, April 21, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
  17. ↑ http://www.marinemarathon.com/history/ground_pounders.htm Retrieved 2007-12-14.
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