The Marathon, as we know it today, commemorates the spirit and valour of the Greek soldier Pheidippides as he ran from a battlefield at Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message "Niki!" ("victory"), then collapsed and died.

It was a fitting tribute to the legend of Pheidippides, when a 24.85-mile run was organised from Marathon Bridge to Olympic stadium in Athens in the first modern Olympics held in 1896. At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, the marathon distance was changed to 26 miles, the distance Windsor Castle to White City Stadium. The total distance was increased by an additional 385 yards so the marathon could finish in front of the royal family's viewing box.