Ten things you never knew about... Marathons

Before the memories and aching muscles of yesterday’s London Marathon fade away, let’s have some facts. 1. The Marathon is said to have been inspired by the Greek messenger- runner Pheidippides running from Marathon to Athens ( about 25 miles) to bring news of a Greek military victory over the Persians. 2. Pheidippides is said to have uttered the words “Joy to you, we’ve won,” then dropped dead. 3. Actually his name was probably Philippides. Pheidippides was a character in a play by Aristophanes. It means “sparing a horse”. 4. The first modern marathon race was at the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896. 5. Greek runner Spyridon Belokas came third but was disqualified for taking a lift in a carriage. 6. The oldest ever marathon runner is Fauja Singh, who ran the 2011 Toronto Waterfront Marathon at the age of 100 in a time of 8 hours, 11 minutes. 7. The Tswana tribesman Len Tau finished ninth in the 1904 Olympic marathon after being chased a mile off course by dogs. 8. When Marathon bars became Snickers in 1990 they dropped from being first to third in UK chocolate bar sales. 9. The Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells runs a Man vs Horse 22- mile long marathon race every year. 10. Horses have won 35 times, humans twice.