Dr. (Col.) Mark Thompson ran in the traditions begun by the Greek Soldier Pheidippides and the American patriot Paul Revere when he successfully completed this year's Boston Marathon.

"This was my 22nd marathon," the Madigan Healthcare System pediatrician said. "And the second time I've run Boston."

With more than 110 years of history behind it, the Boston Marathon is the oldest continually run marathon today. The first race was run on April 19, 1897 on a 24.5-mile course.  John J. McDermott won that first race as he outpaced 14 others with a time of 2:55:10.

This year, Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya won the marathon in a time of 2:03:02, the fastest time ever for the 26.2-mile course as he outran more than 25,000 runners.

The date of the race is set on Patriot's Day, marking the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 with Paul Revere's ride warning of the approach of British soldiers.

"I enjoy running in such a historic race," Dr. (Lt. Col.) Mark Boseley, who works in Madigan's Otolaryngology Service/Department of Surgery, wrote in an e-mail. "This was my 21st marathon and my fifth Boston Marathon."

In 490 B.C., Soldiers of the Greek city-state of Athens met and defeated the Persian Empire's army on the Plains of Marathon. To announce the victory, Pheidippides ran the 24.85 miles back to Athens to announce the news.

During the 1908 Olympic games, the race's distance was extended to its present 26.2 miles in order to accommodate England's King George VII's sitting arrangements.

Like their colleagues in the Madigan Healthcare System, Dr. (Col.) Stephen Yoest and his wife, Janet, have also embraced the marathon distance His Majesty had lengthened.

"I started running only about two years ago," Dr. Yoest, a radiologist, wrote in an e-mail, "upon the urging of my wife." Over the past couple of years, Yoest has run five marathons, and at this year's Boston Marathon he attended to support his wife.

A runner since her college days, Janet's first marathon was in 1989 when she competed in and completed the Marine Corps Marathon. "I always joke that I run so I can eat," she wrote in an e-mail. "I thought it would be my only marathon." But Janet was hooked.  

"I have run Boston twice, and a total of 13 marathons to date.  It is an amazing race to run."

Thompson, Boseley and the Yoests all point out that running is both a way to relieve stress and maintain physical fitness.

"I think the biggest misconception about running a marathon is that not everyone can accomplish it," Boseley concluded. "If you put your mind to it and spend the time training, I believe that almost anyone can run a marathon."