Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon The men's marathon event was a special race invented as part of the Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. Michel Bréal originated the idea of a race from the city of Marathon to Athens, taking inspiration from the legend of Pheidippides. The first such marathon race was a Greek national competition that served as a qualifier for the Olympic marathon, won by Charilaos Vasilakos. The length of the marathon in 1896 was approximately 40 km (25 mi). Twenty-five athletes traveled to Marathon for the race from there to Athens, though
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