Ten fun facts about Marathon

Fact 1
The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens.

Fact 2
The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921.

Fact 3
Smaller marathons, such as the Stanley Marathon, can have just dozens of participants, while larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.

Fact 4
The women's marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Fact 5
More than 500 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes.

Fact 6
Budhia Singh, a boy from Orissa, India, completed his first marathon at age three.

Fact 7
Five of the largest and most prestigious races, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York City, form the biennial World Marathon Majors series, awarding $500,000 annually to the best overall male and female performers in the series.

Fact 8
The Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon is the only marathon where participants run over two continents (Europe and Asia) during the course of a single event.

Fact 9
In the Detroit Free Press Marathon, participants cross the US/Canadian border twice.

Fact 10
The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, inspired by the success of the 1896 Olympic marathon and held since 1897.