Monday, May 28, 2007
ORIGINS
I have a question: my mother the 75 year old school teacher/school librarian says that the word "Marathon" comes from an actual city in Greece, and the set actual 26.2 mile distance originated from someone way back in Biblical times, courier person, having to run to/from the city of Marathon with a very important message for Caesar or someone like that. Does anyone know? Trivia buffs?
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9 comments:
im thinking the 1st marathon was in Olympia Greece, not for certain, we were there once and it seems like i remember that, but the distance was set until along time after,
have a good week
Actually I read the origins in the Galloway Marathon book. I will look it up and put it on my Blog. I think her recollection is close.
Clark
Per Wikipedia, "The name, "marathon", comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek soldier, who was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been miraculously defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping, but moments after proclaiming his message to the city he collapsed dead from exhaustion." There is more to the story and the distance was not set until the early 1900s, but it is interesting to read about it.
My husband had recently told me about this....
In about 490 BC the Persians led by King Darius were attempting to invade Greece and incorporate it into the Persian Empire.
The Persians captured several Greek cities with a land invasion and then loaded onto ships for an assault on Athens (the capitol).
The Persians first landed at the Bay of Marathon (about 26 miles inland from Athens) with the intention of marching to Athens. A small Greek army met the Persians at Marathon. King Darius decided to load some of the army back on some ships to launch a surprise attack on Athens by sea. The Greeks saw what was happening and sent a runner named Pheidippides to run the 26 miles to Athens to warn them that the Persians were coming by sea. The inland 26 miles would normally take longer to travel than the ships would take by sea...so Pheidippides must have been the best runner available.
Pheidippides made it to Athens in time to warn of the Persian invasion but dropped dead after delivering the message. The Greeks defeated the Persians both in Athens and at Marathon.
Thanks folks! Momma does know alot! It was me who could not remember the details. Phidipides, that was the name of that store in Jackson that had running gear.
Okay, I found this link-
http://www.marathonguide.com/history/olympicmarathons/prologue.cfm
I think there is some merging of legends, but nonetheless, she has some knowledge. I am not sure how it came to be 26.2 though....
Amy, I have found that if I warm up and walk for the first couple of miles or for at least 45 minutes that I do better. I have my interval watch set for 2 minutes for walking and 1 minute for jogging. I can't always keep up, but when I hear the beep it helps me pick up my pace.
Regarding your stiff ankles, have you tried Glucosamine and Condroitin? I started taking it about 6 weeks ago (just got the Sams Members Mark generic combo), and although it might be all "in my head" I do believe I am not nearly as stiff in the joints as I was -- I had the problems in my hips and ankles. Before I started taking it, if I sat for a while when I got up I was really stiff and limped around. Now I feel pretty good.
and what did he proclaim upon his arrival? "Nike!", meaning, basically, "rejoice, we conquer..." or something like that. You can thank the King and Queen of England, way back, for lengthening the marathon to 26.2, so that the runners would run by her seat. Yea, thanks!
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