He persians landed in the plains near athens. as their army greatly outnumbered that of the greeks, the greeks hoped to find aid from nearby sparta. a long-distance runner named pheidippides was sent from athens to sparta to request , but the spartans were not able to send more soldiers at the time. regardless, the greeks were still able to win the battle. centuries later, legend developed that a runner had been sent from the battle to athens after the greek victory. after reaching athens, the runner proclaimed, "we are victorious! " and then fell to the ground and died. this legendary story is the inspiration for the modern long-distance runs that are performed today.