A closer look
Ancient Greek messenger Pheidippides is famously credited with inspiring the modern marathon, which is incredibly ironic considering the historical run literally killed him on the spot. Legend claims he sprinted roughly twenty-six miles from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens just to announce that the Greeks had successfully defeated the invading Persian army. Upon arriving at the city gates, he shouted his victorious message, immediately collapsed, and died from total exhaustion. Thousands of years later, modern fitness influencers decided that recreating this exact fatal cardiovascular event would be a fantastic weekend hobby. Every single year, millions of people willingly subject themselves to the precise physical trauma that immediately stopped an elite courier heart, all so they can put a mildly annoying bumper sticker on the back of their leased crossover vehicle
