When people talk about running today, the marathon always sounds like an ancient tradition. However, the race as we know it is quite modern. The story began at the Athens 1896 Games, which were the first modern Olympic Games. In that competition, runners completed a marathon race of 40 km. A few years later, at the London 1908 Games, the organizers made the race longer, stretching it to about 26 miles.

If you look at today's marathon, you might wonder why the official length seems so strange. It is exactly 26 miles 385 yards, which is 42.195 km. The London 1908 event was actually the first Games to use this distance. Runners did not know it at the time, but this special measurement later became the standard distance for every major race around the world.

Other cities soon wanted their own running traditions. The famous Boston Marathon began in 1897 after organizers watched the runners in Greece. In fact, the Athens 1896 marathon gave Boston the idea to start an annual race. Their very first race took place on 19 April 1897. It was won by John J. McDermott, and there were only 15 runners at the start line.

For a very long time, women were not allowed to take part in official marathons. Change happened slowly, starting in the United States. Boston has had an official women's division since 1972. The biggest stage took even longer to open its doors. It was not until the Los Angeles Games that women ran their first Olympic marathon in 1984.