Two thousand, five hundred years ago a great battle was fought. It was fought on the plains of Marathon in the Greek state of Athens. The Persian Army has come to conqure Athens. The Athenian Army is too small and cannot win against the Persian Army. Or can it? The Athenians send a messanger, Pheidippides, to Sparta where a strong army lives. The Athenians can win with the Spartans help. But the Spartans won’t help. Pheidippides must run many kilometers as a messenger to help the Athenians, and from this great story comes the Marathon Races of the Modern Olympics. Children 6-12 years old learn history and its relation to today. This story prepares, but does not introduce, the Present Perfect tense. The story of Marathon was retold in the Past Simple and Past Continuous Tenses.