● A long distance run measuring 26.2 miles or 42.2 kilometres● Today it is a common racing distance for endurance runners.● A featured distance in the Olympic Games since the first modern Olympics in

1896.

● Why 42.195 kilometres or 26.219 miles so exactly?● At the beginning of the 5th century BCE (that’s more than 2500 years ago),

ancient Greece was not the united country of Greece that we know today; instead, it was comprised of “city-states,” or regions governed by a capital city.

○ Athens and Sparta were the largest of these city-states.● At this time in Western Asia, Cyrus the Great, followed by his son, Darius the

Great, ruled the Achaemenid Empire. The Empire wanted to gain lands to the west and began conquering parts of Greece.

○ Greco-Persian Wars: 499-449 BCE● In 490 BCE, Darius led an army into the Greek mainland but was met by the

citizens of Athens, helped by those of Plataea. At this time, Persia had the reputation of having the strongest and largest army in the world, and believed they would be able to easily conquer the Greek city states.

○ The Athenians and Persians fought at a place called Μαραθών, which means “a place full of fennel,” approximately 40 km northeast of Athens.

○ The battle of Marathon is considered one of the most significant battles of the period.

○ The Athenians defeated an army of much greater size.○ The army of the Athenians was comprised of free citizens of Athens

who responded to the call to arms out of their free will to defend their unique way of governance – their democracy, and their freedom against a future of tyranny.

● The idea of the marathon distance comes from the legend of a Greek messenger, a hemerodromos, Philippides or Pheidippides, who was sent by the Athenian army after an unexpected victory, to run from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory and warn Athens of a possible Persian attack by sea. He apparently did so without stopping, burst into the assembly, exclaiming νενικήκαμεν (nenikēkamen, "we have won!"), then collapsed and died.

● In the Ancient Greece gallery, the ROM houses a helmet and skull of an Athenian soldier from the Marathon battle.

● The first modern marathon took place in 1896, when the organizers of the first modern Olympic Games wanted to stage a sporting event which paid homage to the glories of ancient Greece. Michel Bréal suggested the event and the committee supported it. The very first marathon was held on March 22, 1896 in Greece as a way for the Greek Olympic team to choose its marathon competitors.

○ The first official Olympic marathon was held on April 10, 1896 in Athens.

○ Michel Bréal suggested the race be called a Marathon after the location of the battle and the origin story of the race that stemmed from it.

○ Runners from the first Olympic race in 1896 ran from Marathon to Athens, just as Pheidippides did. The race ended in the PanathinaikoStadium, the site of the 1896 Olympic games.

■ In addition to theOlympic Games Marathon races, a Marathon race is hosted in Athens every year that follows the original route of route between Marathon and Athens.

■ Cities around the world also host marathon races.

● Today, it is estimated that more than 800 marathons are organized worldwide. ● The first Toronto Waterfront Marathon was held in 2000.● The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest continuous marathon, founded in

1897 after the success of the first Olympic marathon.● For many years, women were excluded from marathon races.

○ In 1967, Katherine Switzer became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon by entering her name as initials, K.W. Switzer

● World Records:○ Men’s: 2:01:39 (Eluid Kipchoge at the 2018 Berlin Marathon)○ Women’s: 2:15:25 (Paula Radcliffe at the 2003 Chicago Marathon)

The Marathon Race is a symbol of unity, strength and ultimate human resilience.The Marathon, like all Olympic sports, expresses the core Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship.

Photo retrieved from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2017/04/23/london-marathon-runner-gives-race-help-exhausted-athlete-ultimate/

Wreaths in ancient Greece were symbols of athletic victory and honour and were made from different plants. Wreaths made from olive tree branches were awarded to winners of ancient the Olympic games. Wreaths are still used today to crown Marathon victors of the Boston Marathon + now at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

● At the 2018 marathon, Cam Levins set a new Canadian Record, finishingin 2:09:2.

● An athlete from Kenya, Philemon Rono holds the men’s record from2017 (2:06:52) and a runner from Bahrein, Mimi Belete, holds thewomen’s record from 2018 (2:22:28).

● In 2016, 85-year old Ed Whitlock set a world record right here in Toronto whenhe ran the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 3:56:33.2, becomingthe oldest person to complete a marathon in under 4 hours.

Teachers should inform students and parents that winning essays will be posted/published on the sponsoring partner websites with appropriate acknowledgements.Winners and runner-ups will be announced via email to all participating schools by the end of the academic year. Winners will receive a monetary prize and certificate and runner-ups will receive an honorary certificate mailed to their school.

Essay contest winners will be expected to attend the Wreath Ceremony in person. Winners will be asked to confirm their attendance two weeks in advance of the October 15, 2019. The Ceremony will take place at the Royal Ontario Museum. Should a student be unable to attend the ceremony, they may be asked to forfeit their prize, in which case the prize will go to the runner-up.

The contest is organized and administered by: The Hellenic Canadian Academic Association of Ontario (HCAAO) in collaboration with the General Consulate of Greece in Toronto. The prize is sponsored by: Hellenic Heriatge Foundation (HHF)

The Marathon Essay ContestTopic: The meaning of the Marathon race in contemporary societies Length: 3 pages maxFormat: 12 point font, double spacedLanguage: English

Submissions: Essays should be submitted in Word format. All outside sources must be appropriately cited. Essays are to be submitted to the adjudication committee by April 30, 2019 via email to marathon.essay@hcaao.org.

Prizes: $1,000 for the top essay of each grade (4 prizes in total), and 100 registrations for the 5k Marathon race for students of the winning schools.

Eligibility: Students in Grades 9 to 12.