The marathon is named after the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, when Greeks defeated a Persian force. The legend says a messenger ran from the battlefield to Athens, announced the victory, and collapsed and died. The account appeared centuries later in Plutarch's writings, and Lucian of Samosata gave an early version of the story. Herodotus, the main historian of the Greco-Persian Wars, describes a different run: a messenger named Philippides ran from Athens to Sparta and back, a round trip of more than 240 kilometres. The modern 42 kilometre marathon distance came later.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.