04/20/2026
Congratulations to all Boston Marathon runners!
The Athens Marathon, the Authentic. ( 2,500 YEARS OF HEROIC RUNNING,) And how the Boston Marathon is connected.
The Athens Marathon, the Authentic, commemorates the messenger's run from the battlefield at Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C., bringing news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Legend has it that the messenger delivered the momentous message “Niki!” (“victory”), then collapsed and died, thereby setting a precedent for dramatic conclusions to the marathon.
When the modern Olympic Games were inaugurated in 1896 in Greece, the legend of the messenger was revived by a 24.85-mile run from Marathon Bridge to the Olympic Stadium in Athens. Traditionally, the final event in the Olympics, the first organized marathon on April 10, 1896, was especially important to all Greeks. Greece was hosting those first modern Olympic Games. The Greeks had yet to win a medal and had one final chance to bring glory to their nation. Twenty-five runners assembled on Marathon Bridge. The starter mumbled a few words and fired the gun, and the race was on. “The excitement of the crowd waiting at the finish line at the newly constructed replica of Athens’ ancient stadium was beyond description,” writes the Greek historian Quercetani. Spiridon Louis, a Greek postal worker from the village of Marusi, crossed the finish line a full seven minutes ahead of the pack. His time was 2 hours, 58 minutes, 50 seconds. When it was all over, nine runners finished, 8 of them Greeks. The host nation was ecstatic, and the marathon was born.
The United States was one of 9 nations at the 1896 Athens modern Olympics, thanks to the Boston Athletic Association's sponsorship of the athletes. Middle-distance runner Arthur Blake was the only American to enter the first marathon. Blake won a silver medal in the 1500 meters 3 days before the marathon, but unfortunately, this left him exhausted, and he dropped out after about 14.5 miles. Planning for North America’s first marathon began on the boat back to the United States. The first annual Boston Athletic Association marathon was conducted on April 19, 1897, the date chosen to commemorate the famous ride of Paul Revere in 1775.
At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, the marathon distance was changed to 26.2 miles to cover the ground from Windsor Castle to White City stadium, with the 2.2 miles added on so the race could finish in front of the royal family’s viewing box. This added two miles to the course, and is the origin of the Marathon tradition of shouting “God save the Queen!” (or other words relating to the Queen) as milepost 24 is passed. After 16 years of intense debate, this 26.2-mile distance was established at the 1924 Olympics in Paris as the official marathon distance.
Today, marathons have become a running tradition worldwide. Yet the annual Athens Marathon, the Authentic, where it all began, has a tradition and an appeal like no other.
For a more detailed history about the Marathon, please visit: https://athensmarathon.com/history/
