Marathon messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta asking for help, and then ran back, a distance of over each way. In some Herodotus manuscripts, the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta is given as Philippides. Herodotus makes no mention of a messenger sent from Marathon to Athens, and relates that the main part of the Athenian army, having fought and won the grueling battle, and fearing a naval raid by the Persian fleet against an undefended Athens, marched quickly back from the battle to Athens, arriving the same day. In 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem "Pheidippides". Browning's
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