The History Of The Marathon

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It cannot be denied that a lot of people love doing sports as a hobby. To mention one, marathon is considered as one of the most favorite activities of many hobby runners. It is considered as an activity that quite a lot of health conscious individuals usually like to perform. Meanwhile, you may be wondering on how marathon started. Let us find out the answer to this question after you have read this article up to the end.

The Discovery of Marathon Sport

In ancient times in Greece, democracy is not totally established. Even more important, this had been totally changed until the Battle of Marathon was developed in 490 BC. In this momentous battle event, free men run and fought for their rights and freedom from slavery as well as suppression. Armed with their courage, fearless enthusiasm and strong convictions, they fought without fear in their hearts.

According to the well-respected 19th century English-speaking philosopher John Stuart Mill, the Battle of Marathon is important thus it plays a significant role in establishing democracy in the British community. Furthermore, the historical event served as a strong foundation in the western civilization. Definitely, the Battle of Marathon highly reflects the equality and freedom from tyranny among the people in the Greek society.

Brought about by their strong passion and dedication to win, they successfully overpowered the Persians. After the epic battle, a person made a remarkable and inspiring story that had been a big part in the history of Greece. We are talking about the popular marathon hero Pheidippides.

The marathon sport was discovered when it served as a tribute to the fabled run of the soldier in Greece whom was popularly known as Pheidippides. Pheidippides is a messenger who reported the triumph in the Battle of Marathon against the Persians. He ran without stopping from Marathon to Athens to deliver the message. Once he arrived, he died of exhaustion.

After this historical event of Pheidippides, marathon becomes a special sport in the hearts and minds of the people all over the world. The inspiring story of the latter hero is probably the reason why many marathon enthusiasts became more inspired and get addicted to this physical activity.

As a matter of fact, Robert Browning, a famous author wrote a poem entitled Pheidippides. According to research studies this poem actually means that if Pheidippides made his famous run after the battle, he had to run around the mountain, either to the north or west direction.

As the world continues to evolve, marathon became one of the Olympic events way back in 1896. People find it to be more fun and exciting until it became standardized in 1921. Starting from ancient Greece, marathon is getting its popularity all over the world. It is estimated that about 500 marathons are held in the different parts of the world.

The Start of Modern Marathon

The modern marathon Olympics usually developed in the year 1896. However, this marathon event is organized by a specific group.  Michel Breal is the one who promoted the marathon race in the world. He featured the marathon event on the first ever modern Olympic Games in Athens. The idea of Breal was also supported by the founder of modern Olympic, Pierre de Coubertin and the Greeks.

Spyridon Louis is the first ever champion in the Olympic marathon. At early times, marathon was an event only for men. However, it was changed in 1984 Summer Olympics wherein women also undergo in marathon training. The latter Olympics were held in Los Angeles, USA. Joan Benoit was the first marathon winner in the women category.

Marathon as a Favorite Sport

From its high popularity, people continue to love this fun and exciting sport activity. As a result, marathon became a favorite activity in any event or occasion in the different areas of the world. As of now, Rio games were one of the most famous events in the world that feature the best marathon athletes of different countries.

Today, there are thousands of people of all ages having various walks of life that undergo in marathon training to attain their life’s goals and dreams through the great sport of running. Definitely, marathon is a sport career that gives an inspiration and motivation to many individuals who wants to achieve a good quality of life. Apart from its physical benefits to a person, it also provides advantages in terms of the mental, spiritual and emotional aspects in life of an individual.

For some champions, the marathon is not just a sport to them, but it is also a passion that they treasure in their whole life. It serves as their motivation to pass all the problems that they encounter in their daily living.

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