Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Above is a Greek vase with runners at the panathenaic games around 530 BC. The Marathon is 26.2 mile running race. The first recorded marathon is said to have taken place during the days of Ancient Greece. Legend has it that a Greek solider, Pheidippides, ran from Marathon to Athens non-stop to announce that the Persians were defeated at the Battle of Marathon. He then dropped dead after delivering the news. From this legend and from the ancient Olympic games the Olympic Marathon was born.