MPPSC 2018 Prelims Paper-I · Question 51 of 100

Correct — C, 26 miles 385 yards. The standard marathon is run over exactly 26 miles 385 yards, which is about 42.195 km. The odd 385 yards was added at the 1908 London Olympics (so the race could start below Windsor Castle and finish in front of the royal box), and the International Association of Athletics Federations fixed this as the official marathon distance in 1921.

• (a)21 miles 385 yards — Too short — this is roughly a half-marathon-and-a-bit, not the full event; the standard marathon is 26 miles 385 yards.
• (b)25 miles 385 yards — A near-miss trap, one mile short. Early marathons were about 25 miles, but the standardised distance is 26 miles 385 yards.
• (d)42 km — Only an approximation. The marathon is 42.195 km, so a flat '42 km' drops the last 195 metres; the exact textbook figure is 26 miles 385 yards.

A marathon is a long-distance foot race of 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards). The event recalls the legend of a Greek messenger said to have run from the plain of Marathon to Athens to announce a victory over the Persians. Its precise modern length dates from the 1908 London Olympics and was standardised in 1921.

The question is tricky because three of the four options are 'almost right'. The safe method is to memorise both forms of the exact figure together — 26 miles 385 yards = 42.195 km — and reject any rounded or one-mile-off value.

• Standard marathon distance: 26 miles 385 yards = 42.195 km.
• The 385 yards was added at the 1908 London Olympics; the distance was standardised by the IAAF in 1921.
• The race is named after the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) and the runner's legendary dash to Athens.
• A half-marathon is exactly half this distance — 21.0975 km.

• Picking '42 km' — it drops the 195 metres; the precise distance is 42.195 km
• Choosing '25 miles 385 yards' — one mile short of the correct 26 miles 385 yards

MPPSC and other PCS exams ask the marathon's exact distance, or match a sport to its standard measurement — lock in 26 miles 385 yards = 42.195 km.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The marathon distance of 42.195 km is equal to:

  • (a)26 miles 385 yards
  • (b)25 miles 385 yards
  • (c)24 miles 400 yards
  • (d)26 miles 200 yards

  Answer(a) 26 miles 385 yards — the standardised marathon distance.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The marathon race commemorates a legendary run associated with which ancient battle?

  • (a)Battle of Thermopylae
  • (b)Battle of Marathon
  • (c)Battle of Salamis
  • (d)Battle of Plataea

  Answer(b) Battle of Marathon (490 BC).