History of the First Marathon

The name "marathon" comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek soldier who, according to legend, 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. There is no evidence that any such event took place; according to the Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta. The legend that he ran from Marathon to Athens was invented by later writers and appears in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD. The International Olympic Committee estimates the actual distance from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens is about 34.5 km (21.4 miles).

The idea of organizing the race came from Michel Bréal, who wanted to put the event on the program of 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 the Greeks. The Greeks staged a selection race for the Olympic marathon, and this first marathon was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes. Spiridon "Spiros" Louis, a Greek shepherd, finished fifth in this race but won at the Olympics in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 50 seconds, despite stopping on the way for a glass of wine from his uncle waiting near the village of Chalandri. The women's marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles, USA).

world's oldest continuous and most prestigious footrace....

The Boston Marathon Fact Sheet
A guide to the world's most celebrated road race

by Erin Teare Martin and Mike Morrison
Joseph Chebet


The Boston Marathon, organized by the Boston Athletic Association, is the world's oldest marathon. It takes place on the third Monday in April, also known as Patriot's Day, which is a holiday (in Maine and Massachusetts) that commemorates the famous battles of Lexington and Concord.

$575,000 in prize money was up for grabs in 2008.

In terms of media coverage, the Boston Marathon is the second biggest single-day sporting event in the U.S., just behind the Super Bowl. 500,000 spectators are expected to line the course in 2007.

The 2000 Boston Marathon was the closest in the race's history. Kenya's Elijah Lagat and Ethiopian star Gezahenge Abera sprinted to the finish, with Lagat prevailing. The two actually recorded the same exact time (2:09:47) while Kenyan Moses Tanui followed just three seconds behind.

In 1988, Ibrahim Hussein became the first black male to win at Boston.

Former Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Mike Dukakis finished 57th (3:31) as a high school student in 1951.

In 1975, Boston became the first major marathon to include a wheelchair division.

Starting in 2007, the marathon began to implement the wave start, with one group of runners going off at 10:00 A.M. and a second group starting a half an hour later.

This year, the marathon will start wave one at 10 and wave two at 10:30

Number 22238!!

That's my official bib number:)

You can track me on race day using that number...details to follow.

If I can do 20...that must mean I can do 26, right?

This week I've logged about 40 miles, which is on the higher end of what I've been doing. Today, I ran 20 of those 40 miles, and wow...I felt it. I wouldn't say I felt horrible, but to quote one of my running buddies, Beth, I had to give myself some internal pep talks to get to the top of the hills once we reached those last three miles of the run. The hills were short and steep, but I kept telling myself, this is preparing me for Heartbreak...these hills are preparing me for what it might feel like when I reach "The Hills," as I like to call them, after running on flat/downhill for 17 miles. It hurt, but I finished! So that's what I'm hoping for on race day. Pace wise, this was a good run. About 9:18 pace.

This coming week, I am hoping to log less miles, since our long run will only be about 13-14 miles this next weekend. It will feel good to rest. One more twenty miler (actually I think it's 21...but who's counting?) and a half marathon race, and then I'll be ready for the big day!

New shoes, brighter nights, and rude drivers

I decided with the marathon only being a month away, I should probably invest in a new pair of shoes. To all of you non-runners, it is important to note that getting a new pair of shoes before a marathon or big race requires a bit of strategic timing. You wouldn't want to buy new shoes too close to the marathon, but you also want to make sure you haven't covered too many miles in your old shoes. Anyway, I love my new shoes! They didn't give me blisters, and they are way "cuter" than my old shoes. I know I'm not supposed to take that into consideration because it's all about the fit, but I do enjoy the blue and silver.

Tonight Deb and I ran 7 miles from the gym around the Newton area. Our last half of the run we tried doing strides (speeding up for a set amount of time/distance). We did a few of those, and I felt great. I must say, love the fact that the sky was still light when I left the gym after our workout. It just puts me in a better mood. Although, with the fact that it's actually light out, one would think that cars would be able to see us coming. Not so. Deb and I were literally almost hit four times during our run. FOUR TIMES! Each car was taking a right turn out of a parking lot or street and felt no need to look right. I am pretty sure if there were such thing as running rage, I have it. I yelled and cursed a bit...just a bit. Pretty sure I scared people, but I don't feel badly at all. Share the road, people!

Only six weeks...

until the Boston Marathon. It's really almost here!

Today's 18.5 miler

It was supposed to be only 18, but somehow it turned into 18.5. I felt great! I ran with Deb and Beth, and we talked most of the way, which makes the time go by. It took us 2:56, which is 9:30 pace. I like it! Check out the run (it was out and back over the same route). Of course since it was a DFMC run, Jack incorporated Heartbreak Hills!