The marathon is a long distance race with the official distance being 26 miles and 385 yards. It sis after the Greek soldier Pheidippides that the marathon is so named. Pheidippides was a Greek soldier who became the messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens. The historical accuracy of this legend is in doubt however, contradicted by accounts given by Herodotus in particular.
History
The name marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides who was a Greek messenger. In the legend Pheidippides was sent from the town of marathon to deliver news to Athens that the Persians had been defeated at the Battle of Marathon. The battle took place in August or September of 490 BC. The Legend says that Pheidippides ran the whole distance without stopping once. When he reached Athens he burst into the assembly shouting and screaming “we have won”. He then collapsed and died. But as mentioned before the accuracy of this legend is in doubt. But the possible routes that Pheidippides could of taken due actually add much substance to the legend.
Between Marathon and Athens stands the mountain Penteli which means that if Pheidippides did actually make his famous run he would have had to run around this mountain. The most obvious route from the south in fact almost matches the modern day Marathon to Athens highway. This highway follows the lay of the land southwards from Marathon Bay all along the coast until a gentle incline towards east Athens between the mountains Hymettus and Pentelli. Once through this gap between the two mountains there is a steady small decline into the city Athens itself. The distance of this trip is 26 miles.
The Marathon
Most people who enter marathons do not enter to win. They enter one to test themselves, see their personal finishing times and finishing place within their gender and age group. There are even runners who enter that just want to finish the course no matter what their time is, just to be able to say they have run a marathon. People set themselves goals such as breaking four hours. More competitive runners may have the goal of running under three hours. In the year 2005 in U.S.A the average time for male completion times was four hours and thirty two minutes. For women the average time was five hours and six minutes.
Running the marathon
An important element in training for a marathon is the long run. Recreational runners will try to reach a maximum run of about 20 miles on their longest weekly run with a weekly total of about 50 miles of running. Obviously professional runners have greater weekly training mileages. The more you train the better your results and achievements. However an increased training load does offer the greater risk of injury. Most training schedules for the marathon are set over a period of 6 months or more with a gradual increase in mileage and intensity allowing the body to adapt slowly and surely. The polar RS800 heart rate monitor wrist watch is a great asset to have in these schedules to record and analyse your progress.
For the last two or three weeks before the start of a marathon runners will reduce their training schedules gradually by up to as much as 75% from their volume peak of training. They will also take days of complete rest to allow the body to recover properly and be fully rested from any strong intensive efforts. Basically they just want to keep the body ticking over gently until the big race where maximum effort is required. Also many marathon runners will increase carbohydrate intake during the week before the marathon. This is known as carbo-load and allows the body to store more glycogen. And just before the race many runners will avoid eating solid food to try to avoid any digestive problems and also they make sure they are fully hydrated.
During the running of a marathon, coaches recommend trying to maintain as steady a pace as possible. For real novice runners it is sometimes recommended to start out slower than the average goal pace in order to save energy that will be used in the tougher second half of the marathon.
Whilst running the marathon it is essential to drink fluids. But you have to be careful with the amount of liquids you do actually take on board. Drinking more fluids in a race than one loses can cause a decrease of sodium in the blood which can result in vomiting, coma and even death. This condition is called hyponatremia. In 2001 the International Marathon Medical Directors Association issued a warning that urged runners to only drink water when they were actually thirsty rather than drinking ahead of their thirst. It is found that women are more prone to hyponatremia than men. Eating salt packets during a race can help with preventing hyponatremia.
When the marathon is over it is likely you will suffer from muscle soreness. It is believed this is caused by microscopic tears in the muscles. However there is no scientific evidence to back up this theory. It takes most runners approximately 3 weeks to completely recover from a marathon. After a marathon it is reported that the immune system is suppressed for a short time but the taking of vitamin C will help with this. Blisters on the feet and toes only become painful after the race and even toenails can turn black and fall of the toe. This is because the toenails were too long and kept impacting on the running shoe and bruised them severly.
Gentle exercise in the week after a marathon will aid in the bodies recovery as will the consumption of carbohydrates to replace glycogen stores and proteins to aid muscle recovery.
Polar RS800.com
Ok we have given you most of the information you need on the polar RS800 in previous pages of this site. I don’t know which sport you are interested in or are training for. However I am a running nut and the ultimate challenge for any runner is of course the marathon. I’m training and building up to run my first marathon next year and storing all my details and progress via my Polar RS800 of all my training. Writing about the marathon on this site may not be completely relevant to you all but I’m sure the runners of you out there will enjoy reading.
