Marathon running, with the right training, has a beneficial effect on health and shape, is attracting more and more attention. For some, trying to run a marathon is also an element of self-development, a jump above your head.
Now the length of the marathon run is static and measured with an accuracy of 0.1%. Distance from start to end of the route has changed more than once since the marathon was included in the Olympic Games in 1896. During the first seven Olympiads of our time, the mileage of the marathon race has undergone amendments six times (from 40 to 42, 75 km). In 1921, the IAAF (International Association of Athletics) established the official distance as 42.195 km.
Race history
Initially, the length of the marathon distance was theoretically estimated as 34.5 km. This is the distance from the field, where in 490 BC. the battle of Marathon took place, to the city of Athens. According to legend, in a hurry to deliver the news of victory to the Greeks, a warrior named Phidippides, without stopping, ran all this distance, managed to shout out his joyful message to the Athenians and fell dead from an excessive load.
Historians do not support this version of events, since the legend was recorded by Plutarch more than half a century after the battle. Herodotus, who was born 6 years after the marathon battle, mentions Phidippides as a messenger who covered 230 km in two days, heading for Sparta for reinforcements. Nevertheless, the tradition of running the marathon has become firmly established not only as an Olympic sport, but also at the level of small local competitions.
Preparation methodology
You cannot run a marathon all of a sudden, simply by wanting, otherwise there is a risk of repeating the legendary death of Phidippides. It takes a very long time to prepare for such a race, gradually increasing the load. Before running a full distance, athletes train more than once or twice in a half marathon (distance of 21 km). The race is focused on endurance, not speed, so it is important to catch your comfortable rhythm and get used to it.
The men's marathon world record was set in 2008 by Haile Gebreselassie, a runner from Ethiopia, at 2 hours 3 minutes and 59 seconds. The best female marathon result was shown in 2003 by the British athlete Paula Redcliffe: 2 hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds.
The organization of the race also requires a lot of effort: height differences should be no more than one meter per kilometer of distance. The optimum air temperature is about + 12 ° C degrees (+ 18 ° C and more is considered dangerous, at + 28 ° C the start is canceled). Also important are the surface (quality of the ground) on which the athletes run, and the height of the terrain above sea level. All this affects the condition of marathon runners and their speed.
