One of the most startling and unexpected events in sports is the sudden death during the play of a young athlete. Herodotus recorded the death of the Athenian’s fleetest runner, Pheidippides, who had been sent to seek help from Sparta during the Persian invasion; he ran 167 miles to reach the Spartans, the raced back to the Athenians with the news that the Spartans had refused to help. He then fought in the Battle of Marathon, in which the Greeks triumphed over the Persians. As soon as the victory was secured, he ran 26 miles at top speed to bring the Athenians the wonderful news. On arriving, he gasped out his message, “We have won!” and fell down dead-but his feat inspired the 26.2-mile footrace we call the marathon today.
