This famous foot race takes its name from Marathon, a small town on the northeastern coast of Greece, and is tied to a story that has been retold for more than two millennia.
According to legend, in 490 BCE the Athenian army defeated Persian forces at the Battle of Marathon. After the victory, a messenger – often named Pheidippides – was dispatched to run from the battlefield to Athens to announce the news. Upon arriving, he reportedly cried out Nenikēkamen! (“We have won!”) before collapsing and dying from exhaustion. This dramatic tale, first recorded centuries later by writers such as Plutarch and Lucian, and no doubt embellished over time, remains nonetheless a foundational myth of the marathon that has captured the imagination of the modern world.
The marathon as a sporting event was created in the late 19th century, inspired by this classical story. When the first modern Olympic Games were organised in Athens in 1896, French linguist Michel Bréal proposed a race that would commemorate the ancient messenger. The course ran from the town of Marathon to the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, covering approximately 40 kilometres. The race proved immensely popular, and its winner, Spyridon Louis – a Greek water carrier – became a national hero.
In the years that followed, marathons began appearing in cities around the world, but the distance was not standardised. Races varied in length depending on local routes and preferences. The now-familiar distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles, 385 yards) emerged somewhat accidentally at the 1908 London Olympics. The organisers extended the course so it could start at Windsor Castle and finish in front of the royal box at White City Stadium. This distance stuck, and in 1921 the International Amateur Athletic Federation formally adopted it as the official marathon length.
Throughout the 20th century, the marathon evolved from an elite athletic contest into a mass-participation event. Iconic races such as the Boston Marathon, first run in 1897, became annual traditions. The inclusion of women was slower and more controversial; women were officially barred from Olympic marathons until 1984, despite having competed unofficially for decades. The first women’s Olympic marathon, won by Joan Benoit, marked a major turning point.
Today, marathons are run on every continent, attracting millions of participants each year – and some marathons are more significant than others. Moreover, the World Marathon Majors (WMM) is an official series launched in 2006 to unify the most important annual marathons into a single global competition. The original goal was to create a season-long championship for elite runners, similar to a tennis Grand Slam.
The seven core races (often referred to as “The Big Seven”) are:
- Boston Marathon
- London Marathon
- Berlin Marathon
- Chicago Marathon
- New York City Marathon
- Tokyo Marathon (added in 2013)
- Sydney Marathon (added in 2025)
The most famous marathons endure not because they are the longest or fastest, but because they combine story, place, and human drama. Some are famous for history, others for speed, others for scale — but all of them reflect the marathon’s evolution from ancient legend to modern global ritual.
Postscript
Over time, the word “marathon” has evolved into a cultural shorthand for any long, demanding effort that requires persistence rather than speed, e.g. movie marathon, coding marathon, etc. In each case, the meaning is consistent: This is not a sprint. It will take time, stamina and resilience. A comparable example is the word “jumbo”. This word, meaning oversized, was originally the name of a famous elephant. Read about Jumbo HERE.
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References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon
Images
1. Sifan Hassan wins the 2025 Sydney Marathon. Photo credit: NN Running Team
2. Map of Greece showing location of Marathon. Credit: Google Maps
3. Greek troops rushing forward at the Battle of Marathon, Georges Rochegrosse, 1859
4. Luc-Olivier Merson's 1869 painting depicting the runner announcing the victory at the Battle of Marathon to the people of Athens
5. Olympic flag
6. Greek athlete Spyridon Louis, the first to win a marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens
7. Boston Marathon Finish Line, 1910
8. Abebe Bikila’s barefoot victory at the 1960 Rome Olympics
9. Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola wins the men's marathon title at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. Photo: AFP
