Why is a marathon 26 miles long?

Arpeggionist

That was the distance from the ancient city of Marathon (for which the race is named) to Athens. The first runner who ran that distance was a messanger who had to report to the people of Athens that they had won a war. Dec 22 04, 4:08 PM

Artemis--Fowl

The legend that a man ran from the battle to Spartus, not Athens, is wrong. 26 miles is the distance between Buckingham Palace and St. James' Park, where a race was had in the London Olympics. (I just checked this on the internet) Dec 22 04, 5:03 PM

robboy

Actually, it's not the distance the poor lad ran, as it's been recorded at 24.85 miles (40,000 meters) originally. It was later officially changed to 26, then the 26.2 it is now by royal whim when the games were held in London '08. http://www.marathonguide.com/training/coachmindy/history2.cfm Dec 22 04, 5:10 PM

TabbyTom

"26 miles is the distance between Buckingham Palace and St. James' Park." Only if you go by taxi. Dec 23 04, 1:58 AM

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