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The legend...
The year was 490 BC, the Greeks had defeated the Persians at the
Marathon Battle and Pheidippides had the task to bring the good news to
the city of Athens.
He
ran about 35 km from Marathon to Athens and, when he arrived,
Pheidippides just had the strength to say "we won", and fall
down dead!
In fact there isn't any proof of this legend, but the
story was good and inspired the competition that happened for the first
time in the Athens 1896 Olympic Games.
Even
though this legend is remarkable, the real story is even more amazing!
The real story is even more
amazing...
If you found amazing an emissary run 35 km uphill from the Marathon
plain to the city o Athens, then wait for the true story!
The
truth is that Pheidippides was in charge of an even more arduous and
important mission. When the Persian army was coming to destroy Athens, Pheidippides
had the task to go to Sparta, distant 240 km, and ask for their help...
Running!
Yes,
running! Since the path was too uneven for horses, just a runner
emissary could cover the distance in time.
And
then Pheidippides ran the 240 km in two days, just to arrive in Sparta
and get a "No" as response. The Spartans were celebrating the Artemis
festival and refused to help. And then Pheidippides had to come all the
way back to Athens bringing the bad news, running.
If you think Pheidippides running skills was a peculiar case,
know that the Athenians defeated the Persians through the running.
Pheidippides
wans't the only runner
Pheiddipides
wasn't the only serious runner among the Greeks and physical education
was a key element in the army training. In fact, it was due to their
running skills that the Athenians defeated the Persians. How? The
Persian's plan was simple: land on Marathon plain, fight against the
small Athenian army and then contour the seacoast and invade Athens by
the unprotected south. When
Pheiddipides returned with the news
that the Spartans wouldn't help them, the Athenians army, consisted of
10,000 men, decided to do a fast attack against the 25,000 Persians that
had landed on the Marathon plain.
The
unexpected attack was successful and the Persians were expelled back to
their ships. Then the second phase of the Persian plan began: navigate
by 8-10 hours until the unprotected Phaleron beach.
It
was this time that the Athenians had to use their running skills. After
a battle that lasted a whole day, the Athenians still had to run 40 km
until Phaleron beach to impede the Persian invasion.
In
what could be considered the first marathon of the history, the first
Athenians achieved Phaleron in about 5-6 hours and, about a hour before
the Persians arrived there, all the Greeks were already on the beach
ready for the battle. This running was crucial for the Athenians
victory.
The
Persians couldn't believe in their eyes when, arriving at Phaleron, they
saw the Athenian army! In the spite of their superior number of
soldiers, the Persian were scared with the Athenians that seemed to be
super-men. The Persian fleet navigated for more some days searching in
vain for a safe harbor to land. Then the Persians decided to withdraw
defeated.
Source: Michael Clarke text for Runner's World
English Edition, January 1999.
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