Where the name originated from.

I was curious about how the marathon started and were it originated from. I'm going to try to keep it short. I found that the name "Marathon" came from the legend of a Greek messenger named Pheidippides. In a nut shell, after battling in a war against the Persians, Pheidippudes ran over to Athens and Sparta. He ran around 150 miles in 2 days and delivered the message about their victory against the Persians. It was definitely was too much for him, and eventually collapsed and died. It was said that the legend has been debated before so I'm not 100% sure if this is correct. The Marathon has nothing to do with Greek sports and athletics; it just got it's name and idea from that legend. The marathon originated and was an event in modern Olympics in 1896. A victory in the 1908 summer Olympic lead to the expansion in interest on marathoning in the States. More than 500 marathons are organized worldwide and are either for charity or to pay for the funds of the race. Once the marathon has the maximum participants, the event gives other participants the opportunity to race in other events (bike, wheelchair, kids race, etc.) in order to get more money for the charities they choose.

Interesting Facts:

• The oldest women to run a marathon was a 92 year old women and completed it in a little less than 10 hours.
• The average woman burns 2,880 calories while running a marathon.
• The heaviest man to run a marathon was 400 pounds.
• By running a marathon, one risks their health and risks the chance of getting a heart attack during or after the race.