The Long Race Called the Marathon

A marathon is a very long running race. Runners go about forty-two kilometres. That is a long way, and many people train for months before the big day.

Marathon ni mbio ndefu sana za kukimbia. Wakimbiaji hukimbia karibu kilomita arobaini na mbili. Hiyo ni safari ndefu, na watu wengi hujizoeza kwa miezi mingi kabla ya siku kuu.

The exact distance has a funny story. At the London Olympic Games in nineteen oh eight, the race started near a castle and finished in a big stadium. The organisers made the race forty-two point one nine five kilometres, so it ended in front of the king and queen.

Umbali huo kamili una hadithi ya kuchekesha. Katika Michezo ya Olimpiki ya London mwaka wa elfu moja mia tisa na nane, mbio zilianza karibu na ngome na kumalizika kwenye uwanja mkubwa. Waandaaji walifanya mbio hizo kuwa kilomita arobaini na mbili nukta moja tisa tano, ili zimalizike mbele ya mfalme na malkia.

People liked that distance very much. In nineteen twenty-one, it became the official length for all marathons. Today, runners all over the world run the same distance, and they remember that day in London.

Watu walipenda sana umbali huo. Mwaka wa elfu moja mia tisa ishirini na moja, ukawa urefu rasmi wa marathon zote. Leo, wakimbiaji duniani kote hukimbia umbali huohuo, na hukumbuka siku ile huko London.