Marathon races
What marathon has the same course as the 1896 Olympic course?
Marathon
Marathon world record progression 2012 Olympic Marathon Course Marathons at the Olympics Athens Classic Marathon St. Martin's Le Grand
Marathon_world_record_progression-History 2012_Olympic_Marathon_Course-London_2012_Paralympic_Marathon_comparison Marathons_at_the_Olympics-Abstract Athens_Classic_Marathon-Abstract St._Martin's_Le_Grand-Olympic_marathon_course
Marathon races were first held in 1896, but the distance was not standardized by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) until 1921. The actual distance for pre-1921 races frequently varied slightly from the present figure of 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards). In qualifying races for the 1896 Summer Olympics, Greek runners Kharilaos Vasilakos (3:18:00) and Ioannis Lavrentis (3:11:27) won the first two modern marathons. On April 10, 1896, Spiridon Louis of Greece won the first Olympic marathon in Athens, Greece in a time of 2:58:50; however, the distance for the event was reported to be only 40,000 meters. Three months later, British runner Len Hurst won the inaugural Paris to Conflans Marathon (also around 40 km) in a time of 2:31:30. In 1900, Hurst would better his time on the same course with a 2:26:28 performance. Later, Shizo Kanakuri of Japan was reported to have set a world record of 2:32:45 in a November 1911 domestic qualification race for the 1912 Summer Olympics, but this performance was also run over a distance of approximately 40 km. The first marathon over the now official distance was won by American Johnny Hayes at the 1908 Summer Olympics. It is possible that Stamata Revithi, who ran the 1896 Olympic course a day after Louis, is the first woman to run the modern marathon. The IAAF credits Violet Piercy's 1926 performance as the first woman to race what is now the standard marathon distance; however, other sources report that the 1918 performance of Marie-Louise Ledru in the Tour de Paris set the initial mark for women. Other "unofficial" performances have also been reported to be world bests or world records over time. Although her performance is not recognized by the IAAF, Adrienne Beames from Australia is frequently credited as the first woman to break the 3-hour barrier in the marathon. In the 1953 Boston Marathon, the top three male finishers were thought to have broken the standing world record, but Keizo Yamada's mark of 2:18:51 is now considered to have been set on a short course. The Boston Athletic Association does not report Yamada's performance as a world best. On October 25, 1981, American Alberto Salazar and New Zealander Allison Roe set apparent world bests at the New York City Marathon (2:08:13 and 2:25:29); however, these marks were invalidated when the course was later found to have been nearly 150 meters short. Although the IAAF's progression notes three performances set on the same course in 1978, 1979, and 1980 by Norwegian Grete Waitz, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians considers the New York City course suspect for those performances, too. On April 18, 2011, Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya ran the fastest marathon ever in a time of 2:03:02, albeit on the Boston course, which does not meet the criteria for record attempts. Countryman Moses Mosop ran the second-fastest time ever (2:03:06) on the same course and day as Mutai. Eight world records have been set at the Polytechnic Marathon (1909, 1913, 1952–54, 1963–65). World records have been broken at all five World Marathon Majors on numerous occasions; seven times at the Berlin Marathon, three times at the Boston Marathon, and four times each at the Chicago, London, and New York City Marathons. However, the records established in the Boston event have been disputed on grounds of a downhill point-to-point course, while three of the four New York records have been disputed on grounds of a short course. 
The course planned for the Paralympic Marathon also has four laps which are nearly identical to the 2012 Olympic Marathon course, but avoids certain cobbled areas notably Paternoster Square, the Guildhall Yard, Leadenhall Market and the Monument. The start and finish lines on The Mall are separated. 
The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the programme at the 1984 Olympics. The modern marathon event was created and later refined through the Olympic competition. The idea of holding a marathon race at the first Olympics was suggested to Pierre de Coubertin by Michel Bréal. Based upon a popular myth stemming from the Battle of Marathon, in which Pheidippides ran to Athens from the town of Marathon, Greece to carry the message of a Greek victory, the 1896 course began in the town of Marathon and finished in Athens' Panathenaic Stadium – a distance of around . The race distance varied from 40 km to in the early editions as it was typically based upon the distance between two points that the organisers felt were suitable. The 1908 London Olympics marked the introduction of the now standard distance of 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 km). However, it was not until the 1924 Paris Olympics that this distance became the standard at the Olympics. The Olympic marathon proved immediately popular in the Western world and quickly spawned numerous long-running annual races, including the Boston Marathon in 1897, the Tour de Paris Marathon in 1902, the Yonkers Marathon in 1907, and the London Polytechnic Marathon in 1909. Such marathons played a key role in the expansion of the road running movement internationally over the course of the 20th century. 
The Athens Classic Marathon is an annual marathon road race held in Athens, Greece, normally in early November. The race attracted around 30,000 competitors in 2013, including the concurrent 5 and 10 kilometres road races and the racewalking contest. The marathon course is based on the myth from which the race gained its name: Pheidippides, a messenger in Ancient Greece, ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greeks' victory over the Persians. The provenance of the competitive race is traced back to the Marathon race at the 1896 Olympics. The Athens Classic Marathon began in 1972 as a joint venture between the Greek tourist board and athletics association. The race came under the auspices of the current organisers and SEGAS in 1983 and has since become a major race, being awarded Gold Label Road Race status by the IAAF. It is perhaps one of the most difficult major marathon races: the course is uphill from the 10 km mark to the 31 km mark – the toughest uphill climb of any major marathon. The course begins in the town of Marathon, where it passes the tomb of the Athenian soldiers, and it traces a path near the coast through Nea Makri. Following the steep rise, the course goes lightly downhill towards the city of Athens. It passes a statue of a runner ("Ο Δρομέας") in the city centre before finishing up at the Panathinaiko Stadium; a site for athletics competitions in ancient times and the finishing point for both the 1896 and 2004 Olympic marathons. In 1982, the organisers dedicated the race to Grigoris Lambrakis, an athlete and Member of the Greek Parliament, whose murder in the 1960s has become an inspirational cause for advocates of human rights. Since 2007 the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races has organised an annual International Marathon Symposium in Marathon town the day prior to the race. Taking from the tradition of the Olympic Torch, the race features the Marathon Flame, which is lit at the Tomb of the Battle of Marathon and carried to the stadium in Marathon before the beginning of each race. The 2010 edition of the event was combined with the celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon. Greek competitors have traditionally been strong in the men's and women's competitions. However, East Africans and Japanese runners have increasingly become the dominant runners from 1999 onwards. Since 1990, the Athens Classic Marathon has often served as the Greek national championships for the marathon event. The current course records are 2:11:35 hours for men, set by Raymond Bett in 2012, while Rasa Drazdauskaitė's run of 2:31:06 in 2010 is the quickest by a woman on the course. 
St. Martin's Le Grand formed part of the marathon course of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The women's Olympic marathon took place on 5 August and the men's Olympic marathon on 12 August. The four Paralympic marathons were held on 9 September. 