Description
THE MARATHON
The Marathon race commemorates the historic course undertaken by an Athenian soldier in 490 BC, following the decisive Battle of Marathon. At Miltiades’ command, the messenger ran in full body armor from Marathon to Athens to announce that the Hellenes had triumphed over the Persians. He collapsed immediately after proclaiming the news “we have won”. Inspired by this legend, the philhellene M. Bréal proposed a Marathon race be included in the first contemporary Olympic Games that took place in 1896 in Athens.
