Marathon effort as 11,000 race the capital

LEGEND has it that in the first ever marathon, the Greek soldier Pheidippides ran all the way from the city of Marathon to Athens to announce that his country had won the war against Persia in the battle of Marathon.

He ran a full 24 miles to the senate and burst in shouting “Victory is ours”, before collapsing and dying on the floor.

It’s hard to see how his over-exertion inspired a worldwide phenomenon, but yesterday almost 11,000 people from 52 countries took to the streets for the 28th Dublin City Marathon.