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February 15, 2026: Jessica ran her first marathon! It was a beautiful day in Austin, with about 30,000 runners across the marathon, half-marathon, and 5k run. We are super proud of her for this big accomplishment.
The name for the long-distance race derives from the ancient Greek town of Marathon, located in Attica, Greece.
The modern marathon race, introduced at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, was named after this location to commemorate the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC and the associated legend of a messenger — Pheidippides — who ran about 25 miles from the battlefield to Athens to announce the Greek victory over the Persians.
The specific distance of 26.2 miles was established at the 1908 London Olympics. The British Olympic Committee decided to start the marathon at Windsor Castle and finish it in front of the royal box at the Olympic stadium, thus ensuring that the royal family had a prime view of the race’s conclusion. This route extended the race to 26 miles 385 yards (42,195 meters), or 26.2 miles.
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