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Marathon

ANCIENT ORIGINS

Nobody knows how much of the story is rooted in truth or mythology, but there is certainly no disputing its impact on Greek culture.

According to ancient lore, the Greek general Miltiades had some great news to spread in 490 B.C. His citizen army had defeated powerful Persian invaders, and he wanted to send word to Athens as quickly as possible.

He enlisted the services of a soldier named Pheidippides to run the long, grueling route from the battlefield near Marathon.

As he entered Athens, the messenger was said to have cried out, "Rejoice! We conquer!" But the distance he covered in full armor - some 25 miles - exacted a heavy price: Pheidippides collapsed and died after carrying out his orders.

There is no hard evidence Pheidippides' effort actually took place since written accounts did not appear for more than 600 years. Scholars prefer a version of the story in which Pheidippides ran 153 miles from Athens to Sparta to request assistance prior to the Persian attack of Marathon.

Still, Pheidippides' legend did not go unappreciated. Though the longest race in the Ancient Greek Olympics measured 2.9 miles, the messenger's run from Marathon (to Athens) would become a cornerstone of the Games centuries later.

When the modern Olympics began in 1896, the tale of Pheidippides' feat was immortalized: A 24.8-mile race would serve as the final event of the Games, covering the route from Marathon Bridge to the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

The story of the inaugural marathon doesn't carry the raw drama of Pheidippides' dying words of victory. But it is rich with a history of its own, pinned not on an obscure soldier but on a little-known 24-year-old Athenian described in many accounts as a poor shepherd.

It all began, writes Charles Lovett in his book Olympic Marathon, when the Athens Olympic Organizing Committee eagerly approved the idea of a marathon to end the first Olympiad. As the Olympics neared, an air of excitement surrounded selection of Greece's marathon team. Many Greek runners trained for the grueling event, and there are reports that three died from exhaustion.

In the trial event, Lovett writes, 12 runners competed, won by a man named Charilaos Vasilakos in a time of 3 hours, 18 minutes. Nobody paid much attention to a competitor named Spyridon Louis, whose fifth-place finish didn't turn many heads (though some accounts say Louis never ran a marathon until the race, wearing shoes donated by neighbors).

Greece desperately wanted to win, having been badly embarrassed so far as host country. Of 311 athletes entered in track and field, 230 were Greek. But not a single medal had been won by the nation with the grand Olympic running tradition.

The night before the race, citizens offered all manner of enticements to any Greek runner to win the marathon. The list included cattle, sheep, clothing and groceries for life, 2,000 pounds of candy and the promise of marriage to the daughter of a wealthy Athens businessman, along with her $2-million dowry.

On the day of the race, April 10, more than 100,000 spectators lined the course and sat in Panathinaiko Stadium.

Australian runner Edwin Flack, the winner in the 800 and 1,500 meters, was expected to fare well, along with Arthur Blake of the United States (second in the 1,500 meters) and Gyula Kellner of Hungary. But at the midpoint of the race, it was France's Albin Lerusiaux who held a commanding two-mile lead over the three favorites. Not a Greek runner was to be seen in the top four.

In the back, meanwhile, was the shepherd, Louis, though he was said to have sipped a glass of wine midway through the course and remarked he would win the race.

The early leaders started to fade from exhaustion in the second half of the race. Only Flack remained strong, leading with six miles left. A bicyclist relayed the news to a disheartened crowd in the stadium. But spectators didn't know Louis was closing the gap fast, passing Kellner, then edging ahead of a rapidly tiring Flack by some 20 yards, finally leaving him in the dust. The stadium erupted in jubilation when another bicyclist raced in to tell of the new development.

Louis virtually was mobbed as he ran through Athens streets, and when he arrived at Olympic Stadium, two of the royal princes ran alongside him to the finish line and carried him to the royal box, Lovett writes. Louis' winning time was a stunning 2:58.50, a seven-minute victory margin.

Louis become a national hero - though he requested only a new water-hauling cart after his triumph. His conquest created such a stir in his country that it is credited with helping fuel the young Olympic movement into the next century.

In 1908, the marathon was set at 26 miles, 285 yards - the distance from Windsor Castle to the royal box in Olympic Stadium - and permanently adopted at the 1924 Games. The women's marathon was added at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

Now, the race returns to its birthplace, Athens. The weight of two cultural icons - Pheidippides and Louis - rests on the shoulders, and feet, of Nikos Polias.

Polias is Greece's top marathoner and has a chance to do well. In November, he won his seventh national title, finishing eighth in the Athens Classic Marathon behind first-place Zebedayo Bayo of Tanzania and six Kenyans.

But it was his 19th-place finish in the World Championships in 1997, held in Athens, that left an indelible mark. He had started the race last among 108 competitors, but like Louis a century before him, had some company during his impressive surge: the spirit Pheidippides.

"As the race went on, I got more and more powerful," he told the Miami Herald. "I was in a strange condition. I've never quite had that feeling again. It was a transaction between myself and Pheidippides.

"I had some really hard moments during the race, and he gave me strength. I don't think it is possible for a runner from any other country to feel like Pheidippides, to feel like you are willing to give your life."

-- Information from Sports Illustrated and NBCOlympics.com was used in this report.