The history of the Chicago Marathon 2024
The modern marathon was inspired by the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield near the town of Marathon, Greece to Athens in 490 B.C. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the badly outnumbered Greeks had managed to defeat the invading Persians, and a messenger was sent running approximately 35 miles to the Acropolis in Athens to deliver the good news. Pheidippides delivered his message of “Nikie!” (Victory!) then collapsed from exhaustion on the spot and died.
Learn more about the marathon and why it is now 26.2 miles in this article from the History channel.
