marathon

Competitors taking part in the London Marathon. The London Marathon was founded in 1981 by Chris Brasher. The first event was entered by 7,747 runners, and since then 471,000 people have completed the course. In 2001, 30,000 people raced in the marathon. Over the years, the London Marathon has raised an estimated £125 million for charity.

Athletics endurance race over 42.195 km/26 mi 385 yd. It was first included in the Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. The distance varied until it was standardized in 1924. More recently, races have been opened to wider participation, including social runners as well as those competing at senior level.

The marathon derives its name from the story of Pheidippides, a Greek soldier who ran the distance of approximately 39 km/24 mi from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens with the news of a Greek victory over the Persians in 490 BC.

The current marathon distance was first used at the 1908 Olympic Games in London when the race was increased by an extra 385 yards so the race would finish in front of the royal box. The best known US marathons are run annually in Boston, New York City, and Chicago.

Marathon

Community in Brewster County, in the far west of Texas; population (1990) 800. Marathon is located 45 km/28 mi southeast of Alpine, and immediately southeast of the Glass Mountains.

Marathon was constructed on the site of Fort Pena in 1879, and was reached by the railway three years later. Nowadays, it is a ranching centre and a gateway to the Big Bend region. The Marathon Basin, in which the settlement lies, is one of the oldest sedimentary formations in the USA, and is renowned for its minerals.