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In your mind, imagine how the world used to be. Believe it or not, less than 100 years ago, the streets were filled with horses, not cars. Less than 75 years ago, having a telephone in one’s house was unheard of. Less than 50 years ago, people relied on radios for their news and entertainment-televisions had only just been invented. Even fifteen years ago, the Internet was just being put together, and email was just a dream. How things have changed!

Now, imagine what it was like way back in the 5th century, B.C.E.-more than 2,000 years ago. There existed civilizations that enjoyed music, theater, art and travel. The people of that era traded with other nations, and soaked in hot baths. People told stories and raised their children with care-all without televisions, microwaves or computers! However, when people were threatened by other civilizations that wanted to impose their ways, wars were waged. We know how important communication is — especially when a conflict arises. Well, the story of what we call marathon — you know, the race you run for 26 miles — is actually based on a story of how one man traveled on foot to communicate some news for his people. Without a phone or a walkie-talkie, what choice did he have but to run for it?

The Ancient Greeks lived in small city-states called poleis, where they enjoyed democratic freedom. By the mid 5th century, B.C.E., the Persian Empire was extending its reign from Asia all the way down to Egypt, and they were interested in conquering their western neighbors as well. Greece was hence being threatened by the powerful Persian armies, and was vastly outnumbered. The city-state of Athens was the first to receive news of this approaching disaster, and decided to appeal to the very military polis of Sparta for help. Remember that they had no telephones, so in order to communicate to the Spartans, the Athenians had to send one of their people to Sparta. The generals of Athens thought quickly about this task, and decided to talk with a professional runner named Phidippides (also called Philippides) with the plea for help.

Phidippides set out on his task, knowing how difficult the mountainous course would be. He would have to run 140 miles as fast as he could in order to save his people. With tremendous courage and endurance, he made it to Sparta in approximately 36 hours! When he was able to appeal to the Spartan leaders for help, they agreed, but told Phidippides that because of a holiday that took place during the full moon, they would not be able to fight until the full moon passed.

Imagine what was going through Phidippides’ mind as he ran the 140-mile trek back to Athens to tell his people the news! The Athenians were going to have to stave off the Persians on their own. As the army approached, the Athenians-including Phidippides-took to the plains of Marathon to prepare for war. They saw that they were outnumbered by the Persians 4 to 1, but by the end of the day, the Athenians had taken 6,400 Persian lives, while giving 192 of their own. The remaining Persian warriors tried to sack Athens before the Athenian army could return to defend their poleis.

Guess who was sent to carry the news to Athens? You guessed it– Phidippides. After having run a total of 280 miles AND fighting in battle, the man found it in him to run as quickly as he was able to Athens. Legend has it, that the distance between the battlefield and the polis of Athens spanned a distance 26 miles. Apparently, Phidippides made it in about 3 hours, but then died of exhaustion after he delivered his message. The Spartans and some other Greek citizens arrived eventually to help defend the rest of Greece from the Persian force. They were successful in the end, and in effect, prevented the Persian army from conquering the rest of Europe. What a different world we would live in had Phidippides failed to reach Sparta!

Nowadays, the marathon is the exciting final event of the Olympics. In fact, marathons are run in nearly every city each year. The Boston Marathon and the New York Marathon are two of the most popular races in the world. Since each course is different, there is no way to establish a world’s record. Currently, at the beginning of the 21st century, the best women’s times are around 2 hours and 20 minutes, and the best men’s times are around 2 hours and 7 minutes. These days, the exhausting race is run for the sport of it. Since we have the ability to communicate to anyone in the world in an instant, the idea of running 140 miles to give a message seems obsolete. But we can still appreciate how much strength, courage and endurance it took Phidippides, the father of what we know as the marathon, to deliver his important message.