THE PRINT EDITION
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020
VOLUME XIX- ISSUE 74
The 2020 Marathon by Rick Winterson
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early 1, 0 0 0 Marathons are run worldwide each year. But only two Marathons are both historic and globally famous everywhere on Earth. The first one was the original Marathon, which took place in Greece during the summer of 490 B.C., over 2,500 years ago. This event wasn’t a race at all. Although there are disagreements about the exact historic facts, the basic story tells about a Greek soldier named Phidippides, who fought in the decisive Greek victory over the invading Persian army on the Plains of Marathon. After the Marathon victory was won, Phidippides then ran 40 kilometers – approximately 25 miles – back to Athens, nonstop. When he arrived, he burst into the Athenian assembly, shouted “We have won!”, and immediately died of exhaustion from his efforts.
The other world-famous Marathon is our own 26-mile, 392yard race between Hopkinton and Copley Square in Boston, usually held on the Patriot’s Day Monday Holiday in mid-April. The Boston Marathon is a truly worldwide race that attracted 30,000 entrants and a million spectators last year. It ranks in importance with other key Boston events like Boston’s recent professional sports championships and our own St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It was first run back in 1897, a year after the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896; the 2020 race will be our 124th consecutive Boston Marathon. But you don’t have to be told about the Coronavirus and the plague called COVID-19. Crowds and indeed any public gathering of any size are quite correctly forbidden by “Social Distancing” until COVID-19 is over with. “Social Distancing” is a (very) effective Continued on Page 2
SB Catholic Academy Students “Thank Thier Heroes” Thank you to all our Doctors, Nurses, our First Responders (Fire, Police, EMS) and our National Guard and Military and all those workers who everyday sacrifice keeping us healthy, fed and safe, going above and beyond to protect and care for people in the community during this coronavirus pandemic. (More photos on Page 8 & 9)
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