English Español Français العربية Русский

RSS Newsletters

Radio TV

LANGUAGE
English Español Français العربية Русский Documentary CCTV+

Radio TV

By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.

I agree

01:04

The marathon is one of the most iconic events in athletics. And London holds a very special place in the marathon's history

‌Contrary to the myth that the marathon race can be traced back to ancient Greece and the supposed exploits of a courier named Pheidippides making an epic run to herald victory in the Battle of Marathon, the event goes back just 128 years.

The first race was held at the 1896 Athens Olympics and the original distance back then was 24.85 miles, which is around 40 km.‌

The UK's Russ Cook and Yasmin Mahamud in action during Sunday's London Marathon. /John Sibley/Reuters

Fast forward to 1908 and the first-ever London Olympics where the race distance was to be 26 miles, or 42 km. It would begin in Windsor and finish at the Olympic stadium in white city in West London‌.

But there was a slight problem. The race distance of 26 miles meant the finish line wasn't in front of the Royal Box.

In the 1908 London Olympics, Queen Alexandra of England presents Dorando Pietri of Italy, the 'uncrowned king' of the marathon, who fell five times and was helped to the finish line, with a gold cup. /Arxchive via CFP.

China and Europe team up on Einstein Probe

Zhang Zhilei to fight Deontay Wilder

So to make sure the British Royal Family would have the perfect race-watching experience 385 yards (or 0.352 km) was added to the race so the runners would cross the line right in front of the King and Queen.‌

Following those London Games marathons around the world adopted the race distance of 26.2 miles with it officially becoming standardized in 1921.