The commemoration of the legendary long-distance runners from Mdina to Vittoriosa and the brave exploits of Maltese heroes during the Great Siege of 1565 would be a fitting finale to our celebration of the 450th anniversary of this epic event.

The indomitable courage of Toni Bajada and many others are well documented by the chronicler Francesco Balbi da Correggio and the Order’s historian Antonio Bosio, however their valour has been eclipsed by the more famous knights.

To honour our unsung heroes may I suggest the holding of a commemorative road race from Mdina to the monumental main gate of Fort St Angelo in Vittoriosa in order to replicate Bajada’s intrepid runs to convey important messages from Mdina to the besieged de Valette.

It would be most opportune to organise the race on Sunday, November 29, as it would surely add prestige and vibrancy to the CHOGM during their deliberations at the iconic fort.

It is to be recalled that after the founding of the Modern Olympic Games at the prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris in 1894, it was decided to hold the first Modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 to bring back the glories of Ancient Greece.

On the advice of Michel Breal, professor of classics at this university, De Coubertin introduced a new long-distance event specifically to com-memorate the fabled run of the Athenian Pheilippedes, a messenger who ran in 490 BC from the village of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated.

In Athens he rushed to the bewildered assembly announcing “We have won” (nenike kamen) and then collapsed and died.

This race at the first modern Olympic Games was a huge success. It was the only event won by the Greeks with the winner Spiridion Lues being feted and honoured for life. The first marathon was instrumental in the initial success of the modern Olympic Games.