RUN AROUND THE WORLD

United States 

Finland

Kenya

Israel

Greece

Japan

How far can you run? Long-distance or endurance runners run continuously for miles at a time. People do this all around the world. And they’ve done it for centuries! Read on to learn about some amazing athletes.

X

Louis Tewanima

Before cars, many Indigenous  peoples ran to get places and  while carrying messages. The  Hopi people live around  northeastern Arizona. They  traditionally saw running as  spiritual. Running for them  could be a way to pray to  “spirits” for rain. George Wharton James wrote  in 1903 that he gave a young  Hopi man a dollar to take a  message 72 miles away. The  man ran the distance and  brought back a reply in 36 hours!  In 1906, Hopi teenager Louis  Tewanima was sent to an Indian  boarding school, away from his  family. Running helped Tewanima  through that hard time. He went  on to win a silver medal at the  1912 Olympics.

Runners in Japan love ekiden races. These are long-distance relays.  The most famous, the Hakone Ekiden, is a two-day race from Tokyo  to Hakone and back. University students take turns covering the nearly  135-mile distance. Fans watch the race on TV. It’s one of the most  popular sporting events in the country. Marathons are popular too. The Tokyo Marathon is one of the six largest  marathons in the world. In 2018, Japanese runner Yuki Kawauchi won the  Boston Marathon. He also holds the world record for first person to run  more than 100 marathons, each with a time under 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Some of the most famous long-distance runners in the world  are Kenyans. Ever heard of Eliud Kipchoge or Peres Jepchichir?  They are some of the fastest marathon runners ever. Why are Kenyan runners so good? Here’s one reason.  Many are from the Rift Valley region. They live at high altitudes  with hilly terrain. At those altitudes, the air holds less oxygen  than it does down below. Running feels harder. So when they  run races in other places, running feels easier. Runners from  around the world come to the town of Iten to train.

Eliud Kipchoge

The legend goes this way:  In 490 B.C., the Persians landed  at Marathon, Greece. Pheidippides  ran to Sparta to request help—and  back. That was about 150 miles.  Then he ran about 25 miles more to  Athens to announce the defeat of the  Persians. Exhausted, he died after  delivering his victory message.  In 1896, the first modern Olympics  was held in Athens. Organizers  decided to hold a foot race on  the same route. They called it the  marathon. Today, a marathon  length is 26.2 miles.  The ancient Olympic Games also  featured foot races. One story tells  about a man named Ageas. He won  a two-mile race at the Olympics in  328 B.C. Then he ran 62 miles home  to tell friends about his victory! 

This Nordic nation isn’t well known  for its runners these days. But in the  early 1900s, Finns dominated at the  Olympics. Between 1912 and 1936,  they took home 46 medals in middle-  and long-distance running events.  Those included the 10,000 meters,  3,000 meter steeplechase, marathon,  and others. These speedy athletes  were called the “Flying Finns.”  One of the country’s best runners  was Paavo Nurmi. He won 12  medals at three Olympic Games in  the 1920s: nine gold and three silver.  He also set world records in the mile  and 10,000 meters.

Paavo Nurmi

A messenger delivers news to King David.

Before telephones, email, or  even telegraphs, how did people  communicate with those who were  far away? Usually, they sent a  messenger to carry the news. The  news might be written down. But  not everyone knew how to read and  write. Often, messengers carried  the communication in their heads.  2 Samuel 18 tells about two  messengers. They ran to take news of  Absalom’s death to King David. The  writer names them as “Ahimaaz, the  son of Zadok” and “the Cushite.” (The  Cushites were from northeast Africa.)  Watchmen saw Ahimaaz coming.  They could identify him by his run!