I was going to do a 5K training progress report today, but there hasn't been much progress, so instead, I thought I would give the history of the Marathon. I know I'm not running a marathon, but the history of the 5k probably isn't nearly as interesting.

The marathon originated to commemorate the run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, who ran from the town of Marathon to Athens to deliver the message "Niki!" ("Victory") over the Persian forces in 490 BC. According to legend, Pheidippides ran 24.85 miles, delivered his message then collapsed and died.

The run from Marathon to Athens is now known as the Athens Marathon and was used as the marathon course during the 2004 Olympic Games. The marathon was changed from 24.85 miles to it's current 26.2 miles at the 1908 Olympic Games in London, in order to cover the distance from Windsor Castle to White City Stadium, adding the extra 2.2 miles so that the race could finish in front of the Royal Family's viewing box.

The first modern marathon was won by Spiridon Louis, a Greek postal worker who finished with a time of 2 hrs, 58 minutes and 50 seconds, an average of 7:11 minutes per mile.

If you've ever watched the New York Marathon, (or just some pre-marathon footage, because seriously, who wants to sit and watch people run for hours? That's as torturous as watching golf.) then you know that they always like to ask the runners which celebrity times they're trying to beat. Most people say Oprah, but some other celebs have posted some pretty impressive times. Honestly, just the fact that they can run 26.2 miles is impressive enough, but their finishing times are even moreso.

#1 Lance Armstrong (not surprising. He's basically the bionic man) New York City Marathon 2006 - 2:59:36 (2 hours, 59 minutes, 36 seconds) and 2007 - 2:46:43

#2  Natalie Morales New York City Marathon 2006 - 3:31:02

#3 George W. Bush Houston Marathon 1993 - 3:44:52

#4 Edward Norton New York City Marathon 2009 - 3:48:01

#5 Anthony Edwards Chicago Marathon 2003 - 3:55:40 New York City Marathon 2009 - 4:08:20

#6 Will Ferrell Boston Marathon 2003 - 3:56:12

#7 Sarah Palin Humpy's Marathon 2005 - 3:59:36

#8 Sean Diddy Combs New York City Marathon 2003 - 4:14:54

#9 Alanis Morissette New York City Marathon 2009 - 4:28:45

#10 Oprah Winfrey Marine Corps Marathon 1994 - 4:29:15