• superkret@feddit.org
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    1 month ago

    He ran a marathon and died.
    Today, millions run marathons and are fine.
    Some do it while wearing T-Rex costumes.

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Pheidippides didn’t run a marathon. He ran 260 km over two days and died. A modern marathon is “only” 42.195 km.

      You’d probably die as well without training for said marathon, which that poor man didn’t have the luxury of doing.

      • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Pheidippides

        Oh man, are you selling it short. He was a professional running-courier, so we can assume he was well-seasoned for the activity, BUT

        The traditional story relates that Pheidippides (530–490 BC), an Athenian herald, or hemerodrome[3] (translated as ‘day-runner’,[4] ‘courier’,[5][6] ‘professional-running courier’[3] or ‘day-long runner’[7]), was sent to Sparta to request help when the Persians landed at Marathon, Greece. He ran about 240 km (150 mi) in two days, and then ran back. He then ran the 40 km (25 mi) to the battlefield near Marathon and back to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) with the word νικῶμεν (nikomen[8] ‘We win!’), as stated by Lucian chairete, nikomen (‘hail, we are the winners’)[9] and then collapsed and died.

        If I’m reading this correctly, he ran 350 miles in around a week or less? That’s insane.

          • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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            1 month ago

            Humans can actually outrun a horse under certain conditions, notably hot temperatures and extreme distances.

            • Amanduh@lemm.ee
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              1 month ago

              But like if he could have ridden a horse and then ran and found a new horse ya know? Maybe he could have lived

              • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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                1 month ago

                Funnily enough, a pony train has been the solution many times throughout history. A messenger would ride one horse to exhaustion, jump on another at a depot, and continue.

          • Redfox8
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            1 month ago

            Very expensive, like owning a Rolls Royce as a modern day gig worker delivering pizzas…

        • leftytighty@slrpnk.net
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          1 month ago

          Famously ancient historians never embellished anything especially when it comes to a story with national significance

    • Squibbles@lemmy.ca
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      1 month ago

      You may not like it but this is what peak performance looks like

      spoiler

      Peak performance

  • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nz
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    1 month ago

    This is silly. Those muscles are no good for running. Those are lifting muscles. A runner should be lean and efficient. Those muscles are too heavy.

  • PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPM
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    1 month ago

    Explanation: According to Classical-era stories (believed to be just a legend nowadays, due to contemporary accounts of the battle not recording it), after the Greeks defeated the Persians in the Battle of Marathon, a Greek courier, who had just ran 150 miles over the previous 2 days, sprinted another 25 miles to deliver news of the victory to Athens, bursting into the assembly and crying out “We have won!” before collapsing, dead.

    Good one to keep in mind on long jogs, huh?

    • sicarius@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      He had previously ran to ask the Spartans for help on the battle but they wouldn’t leave until after some festival or something.
      So, he then ran to the battle, fought, then ran back to Athens to tell everyone because a ship had slipped past the battle on its way to Athens and if it got back before their army the enemy would just say they won and sack Athens. The Guy is a machine.
      His full adventure inspired the ultramarathon The spartathalon

      • Agent641@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        The Spartans had to wait until the full moon before making a decision.

        Fella should of just walked.

      • PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPM
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        1 month ago

        Greece before good roads was less-than-horse-friendly, very mountainous, some cross-country shit the poor fellow probably had to do.

  • Nougat@fedia.io
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    1 month ago

    Arnold is/was definitely not an actual marathon runner, even if he was the Marathon Man.