Pheidippides and the Marathon to Sparta
Sunday September 2, 2007
Today is another traditional date for the original Marathon -- the run of Pheidippides. The Rogue Classicist has a page of correspondence on this event. Unlike the traditional story that Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to tell of the victory, in this version based on Herodotus, the runner ran to Sparta before the Battle of Marathon to ask for help:- "The story is probably a confused version of the even more astounding run that Herodotus tells us Phidippides completed from Athens to Sparta just before the battle. He went to seek Spartan aid and took 2 days to run the 145 miles between the two cities -- an impressive, but not unbelievable feat (Hdt. 6.105-6)" -Posted by Nigel Kennell
Map Photo © Clipart.com
Comments
According to the legend, Phidippides was a professional runner and messenger. In a time when the only method of sending urgent messages was by runner, a 140 mile run over two days is both believable and reasonable. Top modern ultra-marathoners run 100 mile races in roughly 20 hours. For a top runner a 7:30 mile (8 miles/hour) is a relaxed loping pace, equating to 17.5 hours of running and 30.5 hours of rest to complete a 140 mile run in 48 hours.
The Spartathon, a race from Athens to Sparta, has been held every year since 1983. The winning times are under 26 hours. The record for this race is 20:25 and is held by a Greek, Yannis Kouros. In 2005 Kouros completed the loop from Athens to Sparta to Athens in 54 hours.
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