sports
The modern race gets its name and distance from an ancient Greek legend about a messenger's long run to deliver news of a victory.
The marathon race takes its name and roughly its distance from the legend of a Greek messenger who ran from the town of Marathon to Athens to deliver news of a Greek victory over Persia at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, reportedly collapsing after delivering the message.
The Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Salamis were also major conflicts in the Greco-Persian Wars, but neither is the battle tied to the marathon's name or story — that connection belongs specifically to the Battle of Marathon.
The now-standard marathon distance of 26.2 miles wasn't fixed until the 1908 London Olympics, when the course was extended so the race could finish in front of the royal viewing box, an oddly specific historical reason for such a famous number.
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