Run Gosia run! another 26.2 miles!

Gosia (a.k.a. Margaret) loved to run all her life but seriously started training for marathon in 2004.  The same year she ran her first 26.2 miles in Dallas, immediately achieving a substantial accomplishment - prestigious qualification to Boston Marathon for 2005. That's how she started a great adventure with extreme sport of distance running.

To read a unique story about each of Gosia's marathon runs refer to the selection on the left panel.

What is Marathon?

The word marathon refers to a long-distance road running event of 42.195 km (26 miles and 385 yards). 

The name "marathon" comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek soldier who, according to legend, ran from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon, and died shortly after. There is no evidence that any such event took place; according to the Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides in fact ran from Athens to Sparta. The legend that he ran from Marathon to Athens was invented by later writers and appears in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD.

For good encyclopedic overview of the marathon click here for Wikipedia .

The History of the Marathon

The marathon is one of the most storied races of all time. Originally conceived as a race for the 1896 Olympics in Athens, the marathon immediately captured the imagination and hearts of the running public. Transported to Boston in 1897 by American spectators, the history of the marathon in the new world is almost as long as the history of the marathon itself.

The idea of organizing the race came from Michel Breal, who wanted to put the event on the program of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was heavily supported by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, as well as the Greeks. The Greeks staged a selection race for the Olympic marathon, and this first marathon was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes. Spiridon "Spiros" Louis, a Greek shepherd, finished fifth in this race but won at the Olympics, despite stopping on the way for a glass of wine from his uncle waiting near the village of Chalandri.

When Spiridon Louis won the first Olympic Marathon in 1896 in 2:58:50 (on a 40K course), the Marathon-era began. Follow the link Interactive Graph of the World Marathon to view the fastest 200 men's and women's marathons of all time. Perhaps the most famous of all of the world records were the races of Abebe Bikila, the barefoot Ethiopian, who set world records four years apart while winning the Olympic Marathons in 1960 (barefoot) and 1964 (wearing shoes).

In US, several members of the Boston Athletic Association, including champion runner Arthur Blake, ran the first marathon in the United States in September 1896 (from Connecticut to New York City). The following April, on Patriot's Day, 1897, the first Boston Marathon was run.

It is important to note that the marathon distance has changed several times between 1896 and 1921.

The current marathon distance (26 mi., 385 yds.) was set for the 1908 London Olympics so that the course could start at Windsor Castle and end in front of the Royal Box. When the 26-mile course was measured, it started in front of Windsor Castle so that the two grandsons of King Edward and Queen Alexandra had a good view of the start. But when the finish line, which was in the Olympic stadium, was determined, it finished across the field from the box where the royal family would be sitting. When Queen Alexandra arrived at the stadium and saw this, she insisted that the finish line be in front of the royal box, as it was for all other races. Hence, the additional "point two" making the official distance, 26.2 miles. Not until 1921, however, was that distance adopted as the "official" Marathon distance by the IAAF.

Marathon Stats

Median Times for U.S. Marathon Finishers have slowed significantly in the past 25 years, as recently reported by the Road Running Information Center. Male marathoners have slowed from a median finish time of 3 hours, 32 minutes in 1980 to 4 hours, 23 minutes in 2004. Women (about 40 percent of finishers) have seen a similar slowing in time from median times of 4 hours, 3 minutes to 4 hours, 55 minutes over the same time period. But these slower times don't tell the entire story: Participation in U.S. marathons has increased significantly, from 120,000 finishers in 1980 to 423,000 in 2004. For more statistics, results, and info look at: www.runningusa.org