he world’s oldest annual marathon, the Boston Marathon has its own museum—though almost no one knows about it—tracing the colorful history of the race all the way back to the origins of long-distance running itself: the day the Greek Pheidippides purportedly ran from ancient Marathon to Athens to deliver the report, “Rejoice! We conquer,” and dropped dead. For its part, the Boston Marathon was run for the first time in 1897, a year after a contingent from the Boston Athletic Association returned from competing in the first modern Olympics, held in Greece. Of course, few modern sports require less equipment than marathon running, and the museum consists mostly of photographs, newspaper clippings, maps, T-shirts, trophies and running shoes. But what owners: Johnny Miles, Johnny Kelley, Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and others. There is even a bronzed pair of Kelley’s Size 8 running shoes. Marcus