Marathon, Greece Marathon, Greece Marathon (Demotic Greek: Μαραθώνας, "Marathónas"; Attic/Katharevousa: , "Marathṓn") is a town in Greece and the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides, a Greek herald at the battle, was sent running from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory, which is how the marathon running race was conceived in modern times. The name "Marathon" () comes from the herb fennel, called "marathon" () or "marathos" () in Ancient Greek, so "Marathon" literally means "a place full of fennels". It is believed
Nice Half Marathon Nice Half Marathon The Nice Half Marathon () is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance (21.1 km) held in April in the city of Nice, France. It is organised by the Azur Sport Organisation, who hold several races in the region, including the annual French Riviera Marathon. The men's course record is held by Bernard Kiprop Koech of Kenya, who at 59:57 minutes is the only man to win the race in under an hour. The women's record of 1:08:42 dates back to 2003, when Olympic medallist Isabella Ochichi won the race. Launched in 1992, the