Next week at this time, you will be reading about the 20,000 who are expected to run in a variety of runs during Saturday's Fargo Marathon. More than 2,100 are already signed up to run the full marathon - as in 26 miles, 385 yards.
Where did that 385 yards ever come from, anyway? Whoever started this run of insane run of endurance? Did he or she think 26 miles simply wasn't long enough?
"It's just not challenging enough, let's add a few more yards."
Actually, history reveals that the distance used to be a few yards longer until the 1908 Olympics - where the finishing distance in a London stadium was shortened to 385 yards so Queen Alexandra could have a better view of the finishers.
Sounds a lot like today's sports succumbing to the scheduling wishes of the network television royalty.
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History also reveals that the name marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger who ran from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated. Legend has it Pheidippides ran the entire distance - about 26 miles - without stopping before announcing "We have won." Then he collapsed and died.
Poor Pheidippides. Bad things like that will happen when you don't upgrade your running attire with a new pair of $100 Nikes. Obviously, Pheidippides didn't have any aid stations to replenish his fluids. And he obviously didn't have the chance to carbo-load days before his run.
Whether it was Pheidippides running through the Greek mountains back in 490 B.C. or Joe Schmoe running the streets of Fargo-Moorhead on Saturday, a marathon is a long haul.
If you ran that distance toward the sunrise from downtown Fargo, you would end up about four miles east of Hawley. A run north would get you past Gardner, a run west past Casselton and a run south near Colfax.
Allow me to put this distance of 26 miles - and 385 yards - in even more perspective:
- The men's winner of Saturday's marathon will probably cover the course in less than 2 hours and 20 minutes. I can watch most of a Twins' baseball game in that time - and squeeze a nap in to boot.
- Many runners will cover the course anywhere from three to four hours. I can drive to Minneapolis in that time - putting me in a Target Field seat with a cold brew in my hand.
- A jogger would have to circle an outdoor track about 105 times to equal the distance of a marathon. It makes me dizzy just thinking about it.
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- A golfer would have to play seven rounds at Fargo's Edgewood Golf Course to equal a marathon. Because I'm usually spraying the ball into Edgewood's trees, it might take me a few less rounds to cover those 26 miles.
- A baseball player would have to smack 382 dingers for his home run trots to equal a marathon. If the Minnesota Twins keep playing in Yankee Stadium, a slugger like A-Rod might reach that sooner than you would think.
- A basketball player would have to run up and down the court 1,461 times to equal a marathon. Now for a player like Shaq - known to watch his teammates play defense from the other end of the floor - it might take quite a few more trips up and down the hardwood.
- A football player like the Vikings' Percy Harvin would have to produce 458 100-yard kickoff returns to equal a marathon. Maybe by the time he does that, Brett Favre will finally call it quits.
You get the point. A marathon is long. So if you spot one of these marathoners next Saturday, give them a Pheidippides-like message: "You have won."
Readers can reach Kevin Schnepf at (701) 241-5549 or kschnepf@forumcomm.com
