High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Radamés González Tamayo (born February 4, 1956) is a former Cuban marathon runner. He won the gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games and competed for his native country at the 1980 Summer Olympics. The marathon is a long-distance foot race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), that is usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon (the namesake of the race) to Athens. The historical accuracy of this legend is in doubt, contradicted by accounts given by Herodotus, in particular.