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
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