ABSTRACT
The origins of competitive running extend well back into antiquity. Events were held in various ancient festivals throughout Greece, the best known of which began in Olympia in 776 BC and was held every four years until AD 493 when the Roman Emperor, Theodosius declared them a pagan festival and the games were discontinued. At the peak of their popularity in the 1100-year history of the Olympic Games, the running races included the stade (one length of the stadium or 192 metres), the diaulos (two stades, 384 metres) and a distance event of probably 24 stades or 4615 metres (Drees, 1968). The popularization of running in recent history was achieved by the revival of these Olympic Games through the vision of a French educator, Pierre De Coubertin. Under his guidance the first Games of the modern era was held appropriately in Athens, Greece in 1896. As with its ancient counterpart, the modern Olympic Games was restricted to males until the Amsterdam Games of 1928. Events were the same as those of today ranging from 100 metres to the marathon.
