The Athens Classic Marathon, founded in 1982, the Athens Authentic Marathon attracts Greek runners as well as many international runners.
The finish line is located at the Panathenaic Stadium, where a crowd of 70,000 spectators once cheered Spiros Louis to victory and the 2004 Olympic Games marathoners.
Its course approximates the run by Phidippedes in 490 BC and Spiros Louis in 1896.
| 490 B.C | The ancient Greek messenger, Phidippedes, runs from Marathon to Athens to announce the Athenian victory over the Persians. |
| 1896 | The Greek runner Spiros Louis wins the first modern Olympic marathon, running the distance from Marathon to the Panathenaic Stadium in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 50 seconds. |
| Sunday, November 8, 2017 | Randy Harris and Madison Nastel, winners of the random drawing from the 2017 Chevron Houston Marathon, competed in the 35th Athens Classic Marathon. |
| Thursday, January 16, 2020 | Attend the 32nd Annual Pastichio Dinner to honor the Houston-area and Greek runners who participate in the Houston-Athens Marathon Exchange. |
| Sunday, January 19, 2020 | Two trips to compete in the 2020 Athens Authentic Marathon on November 7, 2020, will be marking the 32nd year of this cultural event for Houston runners in conjunction with the 2020 Chevron Houston Marathon. |
| Sunday, November 22, 2020 | Two runners who finish under 4 hours are selected at random to run in the 36th Athens Authentic Marathon in Athens. 2020 is the 33rd year for this cultural exchange program. |