Marathon year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants. The name "Marathon" comes from the legend of Philippides or Pheidippides, the Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon (in which he had just fought), which took place in August or September, 490 BC. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming ("nenikēkamen", "we have won!"), before collapsing and
Vilnius Marathon Vilnius Marathon The Danske Bank Vilnius Marathon is an annual road marathon, held in Vilnius, Lithuania. The main sponsor of the marathon is Danske Bank. It was introduced in 2001 as 10k race and grew to a classic marathon in 2004. Half marathon was introduced in 2006. Quarter marathon was introduced in 2012. Member of AIMS from 2007. It's probably the fastest growing marathon in the Baltics. It tripled the number of participants between 2012 and 2015. In 2012 there were over 5000 runners, while 16424 runners ran the marathon in 2015. An estimated 20000 runners will run the marathon