Marathon messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta asking for help, and then ran back, a distance of over each way. In some Herodotus manuscripts, the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta is given as Philippides. Herodotus makes no mention of a messenger sent from Marathon to Athens, and relates that the main part of the Athenian army, having fought and won the grueling battle, and fearing a naval raid by the Persian fleet against an undefended Athens, marched quickly back from the battle to Athens, arriving the same day. In 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem "Pheidippides". Browning's
Nike OTC Marathon Boston Marathon is the only other race that has been the venue for more than three American women's marathon records. Nike OTC Marathon The Nike OTC Marathon (sometimes styled "Nike/Oregon Track Club Marathon") was a marathon held annually from 1973–1984 in Eugene, Oregon. It was organized by the Oregon Track Club (OTC) and sponsored by Nike. The women's world record for the marathon was set at the Nike OTC Marathon by Jacqueline Hansen, who ran 2:38:19 in 1975. The American women's marathon record was broken four times at the Nike OTC Marathon in the 1970s and 1980s, by Jacqueline Hansen