TY bakers!
http://www.historicalperceptions.com/distance-marathon-athens-marathon-wait/
>The distance between Marathon and Athens is NOT a Marathon. Wait What?
>There are two modern versions of the myth:
>The first version:
>Pheidippides was a trained messenger, he ran from Athens to Sparta the day before the battle, and he ran back to Marathon the next day, then he ran from Marathon to Athens declaring “Nenikēkamen!” “We were victorious!” Then promptly dying of exhaustion. In this version Pheidippides ran 330 Miles in two days before dying of exhaustion having delivered his message.
>The second version:
>Pheidippides was an Athenian Soldier ordered to go to Athens and report the victory at Marathon. He ran the 25 miles fast as he could, in full armor. Once he arrived in Athens he declared “Nenikēkamen!” “We were victorious!” Then collapsed under the strain of his armor and died of exhaustion.
>The exact distance of this, the very first marathon run by Pheidippides, is a topic of debate. The distance between Marathon and Athens according to Google is 30 Miles (city center to city center), depending on the road Pheidippides would have taken; his run would have been between 21 and 26 miles. A modern marathon is 26 Miles 385 yards or 26.22 Miles. While close, a standard marathon is not the distance between Marathon and Athens. Why?
>The simple answer is the modern Olympics…the slightly less simple answer is…the British.
>In 1896 as part of the first modern Olympic Games the organizers wanted to have a capstone event that they could connect to Ancient Greece, and having a run based on the Marathon legend was an irresistible idea. (This is also why the marathon is run at the end of the Olympic Games.) The distance was set from Marathon to the 1896 Olympic stadium in Athens, a distance of 40km, or 24.85 Miles. While not quite ending where Pheidippides’ run legendarily ended, this race did go along a route that he could have run.
>As the event grew in popularity, a “marathon” was made to be a long race of about 40km, generally with a notable starting and ending point for the place that it was being run. Thus distances varied a little from race to race. In 1908 the Olympic Games were held in London. The London organizers of the games wanted to start the marathon at Windsor Castle and end it the Olympic Stadium in front of the Royal Box, a distance of 26.22 miles.
>In 1921 a meeting was assembled to standardize the length of the marathon. The 1908 Olympic distance was chosen, making the actual distance of a marathon not the distance between Marathon and Athens, but the distance between Windsor Castle and the 1908 London Olympic stadium.
>As a small nod to this, there is a tradition for those running a marathon at mile marker 24 to shout “God Save the Queen!” These shouts (from the runners and the crowd) are kept up for the races’ last 2.2 miles in honor of the extra distance added because of the London race.