Runner (soldier) wounded twice and received both the Iron Cross first class and second class during the war. Runner (soldier) A runner was a military courier, a foot soldier responsible for carrying messages during war. Runners were very important to military communications, before telecommunications became commonplace. The Ancient Greek semi-historical character of Pheidippides is said to have been the runner bringing the news of the Greek victory over the Persians from Marathon to Athens in 490 BC. Even though field telephones were widely used for the first time during World War I (1914–18), they relied on copper wire lines, which were often
Houston Marathon 19th. The 5K event had close to 5,000 runners while the marathon and half marathon had nearly 13,000 runners each. The races bring crowds of nearly one half million to view the runners. The 1979 edition of the competition hosted the national marathon championship race for men and women. Houston was selected for the women's Olympic Trials in 1992 and held the USATF women's marathon championship in 1998. The half marathon course hosted the USATF Men's Half Marathon Championship from 2005 to 2008, and also hosted the women's event in 2007 and 2008. The 2012 U.S Olympic Marathon Trials for