Date of Award

4-8-2011

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The marathon race has been subject to a history spanning over two thousand years. From the first alleged run of the marathon, performed during the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, marathons have fascinated thousands; however, despite strong interest in the topic today, during the Middle Ages there was a time when the marathon was barely discussed. Since antiquity athletes have been honored in stone, in verse, and possibly even in the decorative frieze of the Parthenon. In our modern age all types of runners – beginners to elites – run marathons on every continent covering the planet. Motivations of the race have changed, the length of the race has changed, but still the legend and the glory remain the same. In this thesis, I will explore the relationship between the marathon and death and probe deeper into the ways that death has informed nationalism, visual representation, and the psychobiology of the race and its competitors. The future of the marathon is unknown, but it is the past that forms the foundations of a complicated running tradition. The mythic nature and hazy beginnings of the marathon fuel the public interest in these races. The marathon, through its entire history, has served as a vehicle to carry many different meanings ranging from the strict individualism expected of the runner to the nationalistic pride and human wonder felt by those who witness the personal victories of their fellow human beings. The beauty of the human body and the limits of the human condition are also brought to light through the exploration of the marathon. The marathon has been used, and sometimes abused, in its ability to carry meaning owing in large part to the gravity of the major theme of the marathon – death. Death is, in my argumentation, the one thing that remains constant over the large span of time that the marathon has captivated audiences. Death, its threat and heroicism, are interwoven with the myth of the marathon. From the death of Pheidippides, the so-called first marathoner, to the death of Ryan Shay, an elite runner of our modern age, the marathon continues to offer forth such examples of our own mortality. I will argue that the lasting characteristic of the marathon, the one that has kept poets, sculptors, runners, and scientists coming back for more is the death of the runner. The marathon is a glorious and dangerous task. And it is death that makes the difference.

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