Marathon Marathon The marathon is a long-distance race, completed by running, walking, or a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair divisions. The marathon has an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 miles; 26 miles 385 yards), usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens, who reported the victory. The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each
Niagara Falls International Marathon Niagara Falls International Marathon The Niagara Falls International Marathon is an annual marathon running competition from Buffalo, New York, United States to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Skylon International Marathon (Jesse Kregal, Founder and Race Director), it was first held in 1974, then had a ten-year break from 1987 to 1996 before being relaunched in 1997. The course records are held by Peter Pfitzinger, who ran 2:17:10 in 1980, and Nicole Stevenson of Canada, whose time of 2:37:09 in 2004 is the women's record. It is one of the few marathons in the world that starts in