Running in Ancient Greece Athens to Sparta and then back to Marathon in 490 BCE. He was sent to gain the help of the Spartans against the attack of the Persian army in Marathon. In 1896, at the first modern Olympics, the very first modern-day marathon was run. To honor the history of Greek running, Greece chose a course that would mimic the route run by Pheidippides. The race course covered . The route started at a bridge in the town of Marathon and ended in the Olympic stadium reference perseus project. Another event in the ancient Olympic Games was the pentathlon. The pentathlon
2014 London Marathon champion Feyisa Lelisa; Paris Marathon champion Stanley Biwott; two-time New York Marathon champion Marilson dos Santos, and 2011 world 10,000 metres champion Ibrahim Jeilan. British Olympic 10,000 metres Gold medallist Mo Farah, who ran half the marathon in 2013, drew significant interest in his home country and internationally. It was the first-ever marathon for Farah, often hailed as one of the greatest distance track runners in history. Entering the final mile, two Kenyans led the race: 2012 London Marathon champion Wilson Kipsang and Stanley Biwott. Kipsang pulled away over the last mile, to win the race in 2 hours 4