5 greatest marathon runners of all time

Marathon running has a legend associated with it, it dates back to 490 BC! The first marathon commemorated the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield near the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens; a distance of approximately 25 miles to announce the defeat of the Persians to some anxious Athenians. After this historic run that he made for his countrymen, Pheidippides succumbed to death.

Thus, marathon running in itself is a sport that requires a wide variety of skills and talent, and not everyone can imagine running such a distance without some serious preparations. And since one cannot be sure of who ranks as the “best” or how athletes from the past and present can be compared, Sportskeeda looks at 5 greatest marathon runners of all time...

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#1 Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia)

Currently the President of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, Haile is in all sense a modern-day international legend when it comes to long distance track and field running. He has long list of illustrious records to his name in a career that spanned over 20 years.

A two-time Olympic gold medallist in 10,000 meters at the 1996 and 2000 Games, he has set 27 world records in total. When it comes to marathons, Gebrselassie won the half marathon world championships in 2001, alongside nine major marathons. The world record came at the prime age of 35 at the 2008 Berlin Marathon, where he clocked 2:03:59.