Marathon, Greece Marathon, Greece Marathon (Demotic Greek: Μαραθώνας, "Marathónas"; Attic/Katharevousa: , "Marathṓn") is a town in Greece and the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides, a Greek herald at the battle, was sent running from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory, which is how the marathon running race was conceived in modern times. The name "Marathon" () comes from the herb fennel, called "marathon" () or "marathos" () in Ancient Greek, so "Marathon" literally means "a place full of fennels". It is believed
Porto Half Marathon Porto Half Marathon The Porto Half Marathon (Portuguese: "Meia-Maratona do Porto") is an annual half marathon road running event held in Porto, Portugal which follows the River Douro. Known as the Sportzone Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons, the inaugural edition was held in 2007 and it typically takes place every mid-September. The competition attracts top level elite athletes, mainly East African and Portuguese. Since its inception, all the men's and women's races have been won by East African competitors. Among those to top the men's podium are Olympic champions Haile Gebrselassie and Samuel Wanjiru, while former world champion over 10,000