The term marathon comes from Marathṓn , the name of a town in Greece . Historians say that, in the year 490 BC , a Greek soldier ran from said city to Athens , about 42 kilometers away, to announce the military victory achieved over the Persians.
Today, a marathon is called an athletics competition in which participants must complete a route of 42 km and 195 meters . It is, therefore, an endurance race.
Before moving forward with the definition of a marathon, it is important to mention that the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) accepts both its male version and its female version. That is why it can be said "the marathon" or "the marathon" .
Since Athens 1896 , the marathon has been an Olympic discipline, although in the men 's category. It wasn't until the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics that women also began competing in marathons.
The men's world record in the marathon belongs to Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge , who set a mark of 2:01:39 . Among the runners, the British Paula Radcliffe achieved a record of 2:15:25 .
In addition to those mentioned, there are other marathon athletes who have managed to be among the best in the world in this sport . We are referring to the following:
-Kenesisa Bekele, who is of Ethiopian origin.
-The Kenyan Dennis Kimetto, who stood out in the Chicago, Tokyo and Berlin marathons.
-The Ethiopian Mule Wasihum, who is considered one of the best ten marathoners in the world.
-The Spanish Abel Antón, who managed to become world champion twice. Specifically, he did it in Athens in 1997 and in Seville in 1999.
-The Kenyan Brigid Kosgei, who is currently the world record holder in this test with a time of 2 hours, 14 minutes and 4 seconds. Specifically, she has managed to surpass the record of the aforementioned Paula Radcliffe.
In the same way, we cannot ignore that, because in recent years the number of people who go running has grown considerably, events such as the so-called Half Marathon have become popular in cities around the world. In this one, a distance of 21 kilometers is covered.
Specifically, there are already many marathon events that have become "star" competitions and that arouse enormous interest. This would be the case, for example, of the Barcelona half marathon which takes place in February, the Rome half marathon called “RomaOstia” and which takes place in March or the New York half marathon which takes place in March and which brings together 22,000 runners.
It should be noted that a marathon is also called any competition whose winner is the one who demonstrates greater resistance and the activity that takes place at a fast pace or that extends over a single, very long session . For example: "I'm exhausted: I had a marathon of meetings with different clients and suppliers," "Next week there will be a dance marathon at the cultural center," "The public television channel will present a Cantinflas marathon, with ten hours." consecutive series of programming dedicated to the brilliant Mexican comedian .