The distance of a marathon did not start out at 26.2 miles and has some interesting possible roots. Legend has it, way back in 490 b.c. that a Greek messenger by the name of Pheidippides was sent from Marathon, Greece where he had just fought in battle to Athens to announce the defeat of the Persians.
He ran the entire distance without stopping and, upon making the announcement of victory, died right there. It was an estimated 40km that he had ran with the message and early marathons took place at a distance of 40km, just under 25 miles. But, it wasn’t even until 1896 that the marathon became an official part of Olympic Games.
In 1908, the distance was lengthened which is said to be due to Queen Alexandra wanting the race to start on Windsor Castle lawn and finish in front of the Royal Box at Olympic Stadium. The distance set happened to be 26.2 miles and in 1921, it became the standard.
The Boston Marathon was one of the first marathons to start allowing female athletes to compete and that didn’t even happen until 1972. Then, it wasn’t until 1984 when the Olympics added that event for women.
According to Runningusa.org –
In 1980 only 10% of marathon finishers were female and last year, that number was at 43%
.
The most common age group of marathon finishers is 20-39.
The average age of men in 1980 was 34 and is now up to 40.
The average age of women in 1980 was 31 and is now up to 35.
In 1980, the average male finishing time was 3:32:17 and women finished in 4:03:39. Those times have jumped considerably with men at 4:16:24 and women at 4:41:38. That just shows how many more people are doing it recreationally instead of necessarily being an actual runner/competitor.
In 1976, the estimated number of marathon finishers was 25,000. In 1980, that had already jumped to 143,000. In 2013, there was an estimated 541,000 marathon finishers throughout the United States.
In 2013, the ING New York City Marathon had 50,266 finishers. The Chicago Marathon had 38,879.
He ran the entire distance without stopping and, upon making the announcement of victory, died right there. It was an estimated 40km that he had ran with the message and early marathons took place at a distance of 40km, just under 25 miles. But, it wasn’t even until 1896 that the marathon became an official part of Olympic Games.
In 1908, the distance was lengthened which is said to be due to Queen Alexandra wanting the race to start on Windsor Castle lawn and finish in front of the Royal Box at Olympic Stadium. The distance set happened to be 26.2 miles and in 1921, it became the standard.
The Boston Marathon was one of the first marathons to start allowing female athletes to compete and that didn’t even happen until 1972. Then, it wasn’t until 1984 when the Olympics added that event for women.
According to Runningusa.org –
In 1980 only 10% of marathon finishers were female and last year, that number was at 43%
.
The most common age group of marathon finishers is 20-39.
The average age of men in 1980 was 34 and is now up to 40.
The average age of women in 1980 was 31 and is now up to 35.
In 1980, the average male finishing time was 3:32:17 and women finished in 4:03:39. Those times have jumped considerably with men at 4:16:24 and women at 4:41:38. That just shows how many more people are doing it recreationally instead of necessarily being an actual runner/competitor.
In 1976, the estimated number of marathon finishers was 25,000. In 1980, that had already jumped to 143,000. In 2013, there was an estimated 541,000 marathon finishers throughout the United States.
In 2013, the ING New York City Marathon had 50,266 finishers. The Chicago Marathon had 38,879.