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Marathons Are Named After Marathon (Greece)
Ever wonder why a marathon is 26.2 miles? Well, in 490 BC, the ancient Greeks won a battle against the much larger forces of the Persian Empire near a small city called Marathon. As the legend goes, after the battle a messenger ran all the way to Athens to tell the city of the victory and to warn them about the Persian Fleet, a distance of 26.2 miles. The Greeks held races from Marathon to Athens to commemorate him, and the marathon was born.
