Marathon poem, his composite story, became part of late 19th century popular culture and was accepted as a historic legend. Mount Pentelicus stands between Marathon and Athens, which means that if Philippides actually made his famous run after the battle, he had to run around the mountain, either to the north or to the south. The latter and more obvious route matches almost exactly the modern Marathon-Athens highway, which follows the lay of the land southwards from Marathon Bay and along the coast, then takes a gentle but protracted climb westwards towards the eastern approach to Athens, between the foothills of
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