> In ancient Greece, a soldier named Pheidippides ran about 25 miles to delivernews to Athens, from which town?And the answer: Marathon. Photo credit: http://cc.nphoto.net/view/2008/12259.shtmlAccording to legend, inthe year 490 B.C.E., Pheidippides ran 25 miles from the town of Marathon, toAthens, to announce that the Greeks had defeated the Persians. He apparentlyannounced "Victory!" and then collapsed from over-exertion.Though ancient, this Athenian race as we know it is a far more recentdevelopment: the modern form of the marathon came as an early 20th centuryinvention. Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee,organized the first marathon at the 1896 Olympics, the first modern iteration ofthe games. This inspired the creation of the first Boston Marathon the followingyear, an event that now attracts some 30,000 runners every year. Across theUnited States, that number climbs to over 540,000 per year. More than 800marathons are held throughout the world every year. Interestingly, the official length of 26.2 miles was a later addition to theGreek race. As the story goes, the British royal family requested an amendmentto the course so that the family could watch the race as it passed by BuckinghamPalace's nursery window. The length stuck, and in 1921 the marathon wasstandardized at 26.2 miles. To get a better look of what it takes to run this grueling race (and perhaps tobetter understand the toll of the race on novice runner Pheidippides), check outthe video below.