Boston Marathon

Boston Marathon

Americanism: Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon is an annual event which is organized by a range of cities in the Greater Boston area (Massachusetts). The origin of the Boston Marathon dates back to the late 19th century; this marathon was greatly inspired by the 1896 Summer Olympics, which was recorded as the first international Olympic games of human modern history. To celebrate the spirit of Olympics, Boston Athletic Association (BAA) and John Graham, who was the US Olympic team manager, began to organize and host a marathon in eastern Massachusetts annually since 1897. The Boston Marathon is currently ranked as the world’s oldest annual marathon event. Last year, in 2017, 20,074 people participated in the race to celebrate the event. The Boston Marathon, which has been run every Patriots’ Day since April 19, 1897 commemorate the holiday (to connect the Athenian and American struggles for liberty (marathons being so named after the Greek Battle of Marathon).

Why is a marathon 26.2 miles? In Greece, commemorated the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield near the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C. According to legend, Pheidippides ran the approximately 25 miles to announce the defeat of the Persians to some anxious Athenians. Not quite in mid-season shape, he delivered the message “Niki!” (Victory!) then keeled over and died.

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