Earlier today, while knocking out an 8k rowing session, I saw a bit on CNN talking about people running a marathon inside Yankee stadium to raise money for cancer research. An entire marathon being run in such a small space? Fascinating.
The only problem was that they weren’t actually running a marathon. They were running a 5k. Hmmm. Apparently the good folks at CNN think that the term marathon means “running a distance longer than the talking head on TV is capable of running.”
Believe it or not, a marathon is a race of a specific length – 26 miles and 385 yards (26.2 miles), to be exact. The modern marathon was inspired by the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, who ran from the Battle of Marathon (the namesake of the race) to Athens to announce that that Persians had been defeated.
As the story goes, Pheidippides ran the entire distance without stopping, delivered his message, and then collapsed and died. And that, my friends, is why I’ve never run a marathon… Because the first guy to do so died as a result. 
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
A man named Greg Goebel died running a marathon on an indoor track this year…probably not too far removed from the size of yankee stadium. Luckily for him, a doctor was only 50 yards behind him and was able to start CPR right away. As far as he knows, he just took a 4 day nap and he’s already run another 2 or 4 marathons since then (albeit not quite as quickly.)
I have people ask me frequently about my marathons … except that I do triathlon (and not full Ironman distance!). Never run a race longer than 5K.
Blaine,
You are correct, I was extremely lucky and managed to do something Pheidippides wasn’t able to do, die, and live to tell about it. I don’t recommend it by the way, and will be eternally grateful to Dr. Bob Aby who was at the right place at the right time for me. Had it occurred in 90% of the 30 marathons I ran in 2010, I wouldn’t be here to type this.
Whether 5Ks, marathons, or ultras, you can never take anything for granted. I had no warnings, no symptoms and no heart attack – it just quit beating. I am sure my conditioning of all the marathons last year helped me survive. I hope my January ‘event’ doesn’t scare someone else away from making a 26.2 mile commitment. It hasn’t me, and this weekend will be #5 AD.
Many miles with many smiles to all!
GG