Where do marathons come from?

Do you know where a 26.2-mile race originated from? It's kind of a random distance. The story is fascinating.

💬 "We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon. - Emil Zatopekh

🤔 The Origin of the Marathon

The legend starts with a man named Pheidippides (say that three times fast), a Greek messenger who was part of the battle of Marathon in the late Summer 490 BC. He ran back to Athens, a distance of around 25 miles, at full speed to declare victory.

Right after yelling, "We won!" he fell over dead.

(That's why you don't run at an all-out effort in the Summer...)

Of course, there's debate about the historical accuracy, but here's the part I love: A guy ran a distance. He died. Now, we run this distance on the weekend and get a free banana at the end. Nice.

But wait! He ran 25 miles. Why is the distance 26.2 miles!?

Well, in 1908, the British and their royal family wanted the race to begin and end at Windsor Castle so that the children could view the race from the royal nursery. This added 1.2 miles to the course. Imagine changing the distance of a well-known race for the Olympics to make it all about you...

Again, this is disputed history. But, as an American, any more shots I can take at the British, I will.

That's the rough history of the marathon. So if you ever wonder if you should check on your runner friends... yes, you should.

We literally are running distances that have killed people.

Book - As many of you loyal readers know, I've finished a draft and am finalizing my book. Well, that's coming out next month. What got published yesterday was a quick eBook on running but staying injury-free! I took everything from years of running and distilled it down to a free, 31-page guide with 8 simple principles.

Snag it here: https://jeffwri.gumroad.com/l/RunInjuryFree

Running - I'm gonna be honest right now. For as much as I write about running, I haven't run as much as I want this year. A combination of being sick twice and vacation has totally thrown me off my game. I'm planning a rather long self-supported trail run here soon, so it's time to get in gear.

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Just run one mile... because one mile inevitably turns to two... Then, to three... And before you know it, you're running further than you ever dreamed. See you on the trails! 🤙🏻