MARATHON AND
THE MARATHON FLAME

Marathon, Greece – from where, in 490 BC, the soldier Pheidippides ran 26 miles to Athens to bring news of a Greek victory over the Persians – lies no less than 4,760 miles west of Hopkinton, MA. But that distance was substantially shortened in 2006, when the Massachusetts town established a sister-city relationship with the Greek municipality.

Since then, the towns have enjoyed a rich connection. Following efforts by the 26.2 Foundation, a statue of Greek running legend Stylianos Kyriakides, the winner of the 1946 Boston Marathon, was unveiled at the race’s one-mile mark, at Weston Nurseries. The statue commemorates Kyriakides and how he used his victory to generate support for fellow Greeks, who were destitute following the Nazi occupation of World War iI. An identical work was commissioned for Marathon, near the ancient battle site, to mark the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

In 2008, the Marathon Flame was officially gifted by the citizens of Marathon to the citizens of Hopkinton, and now has a permanent home there – the only other place besides Greece where it burns continuously. Carried by a delegation of runners from both Hopkinton and Marathon to its new home, the flame burns bright today in front of the Hopkinton Police Department.