Abebe Bikila Day International Peace Marathon & Half

Planned as a memorial race in honor of the 184 people who lost their lives in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Pentagon as well as the thousands more who perished that fateful day in New York City and Pennsylvania, the International Peace Half Marathon also celebrates the memory of Ethiopan runner Abebe Bikila, who became the first black African to win an Olympic medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics.

The race adds the 26.2-mile full marathon distance for the first time in 2013 — in past years, the race was run as a half marathon only, and open to up to 250 entrants. This year, the maximum number of entrants is 350.

Bikila — who won not just any medal but the gold medal in the marathon at the Games in Rome that year, on September 10, 1960 — would repeat his achievement four years later, winning the gold again at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. This race celebrates both his achievement and the lives that were lost 10 years ago, and a memorial bell will be rung in their honor 184 times before the start of the race.