A passion, a sport, a noble art that it represents the "race of races", the goal. A hard and long training of about six months made by a controlled diet and running for long distances, athletic flawless to support 42,195 km rite adopted in 1921 by the World Federation of Athletics and become official from the next Games of Paris 1924.
Marathons earlier had a route of about 40km, that is the distance between Marathon and Athens, to recall the greek myth of Pheidippides, an emissary of generals and politicians who sent the messages running from one end of Greece. Pheidippides ran the most important 40 km of his life and, perhaps, of the whole Greek mythology. The distance separating the plain of Marathon from 'Acropolis in Athens to announce the victory of the Athenians over the Persians. Less known, but equally important, were the 500km separating Athens by Sparta courses to seek help from the Spartans before the battle began.
The Olympic marathon of 1908, held in London, had a run of 26 miles exact (approximately 41.843 kilometers) in which the organizers added 385 yards (or about 352 meters), in order to put the finishing line in front of the royal box . The resulting distance was thus 42,195 kilometers that were officially adopted 13 years later.
Needless to say who is the world record: obviously a Kenyan athlete. Dennis Kimetto recorded in Berlin in 2014 a fantastic 2h 02 '57 "
The opposite primacy, but always primacy, goes instead to Shizo Kanakuri, class, 1891, the Japanese athlete passed to history for the Olympics in Sweden in 1912. After 18 days of travel and a fundraiser organized by the Normal High School in Tokyo, the athlete arrives in Stockholm. It kicks off the race and the Japanese, seen as one of the favorites, keeps a good pace. Approximately 30 'km, it stops that cost him dear. Driven by abnormal temperatures and dehydration, refreshments accepted by a spectator and, in what was to be a brief stop, he fell asleep! A race finished, and the police alerted by the judges to his research, he woke up and went back to his country by making them give up for lost shame. In 1962, a Swedish journalist found him in his home country and the opportunity to redeem himself, completing the marathon abandoned 50 years before and, at the age of 76anni, in 1967 to mark the 55th anniversary of the Olympic Games, made record His very special record of 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, 20 seconds and 3/10.
These myths make the Marathon even more fascinating. The Kola Beach is organizing its marathon in Mambrui, with 42km of emotions, history, looks and landscapes that will make you see an Africa different, real and intense. Perhaps as you've never seen.
You, in the meantime, start exercising!
Sources: wikipedia.org albanesi.it fidal.it