Sunday, November 2, 2014

New York Marathon : So Why is a marathon 26.2 miles, blame on the Royals


The idea for the modern marathon was inspired by the legend of an ancient Greek messenger who raced from the site of Marathon to Athens, a distance of about 40 kilometers, or nearly 25 miles, with the news of an important Greek victory over an invading army of Persians in 490 B.C. After making his announcement, the exhausted messenger collapsed and died.

So Why is a marathon 26.2 miles, blame on the Royals

The 1908 Games in London the course was extended, allegedly to accommodate the British royal family. As the story goes, Queen Alexandra requested that the race start on the lawn of Windsor Castle (so the littlest royals could watch from the window of their nursery, according to some accounts) and finish in front of the royal box at the Olympic stadium—a distance that happened to be 26.2 miles (26 miles and 385 yards). The random boost in mileage ending up sticking, and in 1921 the length for a marathon was formally standardized at 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometers).http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/why-is-a-marathon-26-2-miles

http://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/10/nyc_marathong_street_and_bridg.html

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