4. The First Marathon
What is considered the first marathon is the run by Pheidippides, a Greek soldier in 490 BC. He ran almost 25 miles from Marathon to Athens to inform the people of Athens about the result of the battle which their countrymen had been fighting against the Persians. The distance of 25 miles had many obstacles braving which Pheidippides reached the town only to inform about the Greek success before falling dead. At the first Olympic Games in 1896, a marathon of near similar length was held to commemorate the heroic deed of Pheidippides.
