The marathon is named for the legendary event in which a messenger ran from Marathon, Greece to Athens to announce the Athenian victory.
Marathon
In 490BC when Pheidippedes, a Greek messenger, ran from the Battle of Marathon, to Athens to proclaim the Greek victory over the Persians
The word marathon comes from the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians won the battle and told their messenger to tell the rest of Athens of the victory. After 25 miles he reached Athens and said, "Rejoice, for we have won!" Then he collapsed dead.
The modern Athens Marathon commemorates the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield at the site of the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C., bringing news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message "Niki!" ("victory"), then collapsed and died, thereby setting a precedent for dramatic conclusions to the marathon.
Pheidippides, runner from Athens to Sparta to ask for help later from battle of marathon to Athens to report a victory
The name marathon comes from the Battle of Marathon. It was fought between Persia and Athens at Marathon, Greece. After the Greeks defeated the Persians, they sent a runner back to Athens to inform the Greeks of their victory. The distance between Marathon and Athens was around 25 to 26 kilometers. He burst into the assembly hall exclaiming Νενικήκαμεν (We have won!) then collapsed and died from exhaustion. This is just a legend.
I assume you mean the person who ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory won there by the Greeks. His name according to Herodotus was Pheidippides.
In ancient times, Athens (and other Greek allies) secured one decisive victory over its traditional enemy, Persia, on a coastal plain called Marathon. Occurring in 490 B.C.E., this battle was won by the Greeks against a much larger force and ended a Persian invasion-threat.
Pheidippides is a character in a traditional Greek story who ran from Athens to Sparta to request help to battle the Persians. Afterward, he ran from Marathon to Athens to announce Greece's victory.
Pheidippides was sent to run from Marathon to Athens in under 36 hours to announce that there had been a victory against the Persians. He died when arriving to Athens after delivering the message.
Athens Classic Marathon was created in 1972.