Fascinated and impressed by the success of Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon - 2011, His Excellency Maris Sangiampongsa, the Ambassador of Thailand to Nepal who graced the event as the Chief Guest, proposed that another marathon with a Buddhist theme may be launched in 2012 to celebrate Lumbini as the Birth Place of Lord Buddha and Nepal’s most important Buddhist site.

His Excellency has envisioned that the marathon be called Buddhist Circuit Marathon covering all important places of Lord Buddha's life following his journey of transformation from a common man to an enlightened being—the Buddha.

His Excellency also opined that such a marathon should showcase all four important places related with Buddha's life. Namely, Lumbini where he was born, Bodhgaya where he got his enlightenment, Sarnath where he gave his first sermon and Kushinagar where he passed away into Mahaparinirvana.

However, Mr. Bikram Pandey, the organizer of Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon, came up with another suggestion for the marathon’s name—Gautam Buddha Lumbini Peace Marathon. The event will help to prominently highlight Lumbini as the Birth Place of Lord Buddha and also help attract attention to other important Buddhist sites such as Tilaurakot, Kudan, Sagrahawa, Kapilvastu, Ramgram, Devdaha and Mayadevi Temple.

After many brainstorming sessions and consultations with Buddhist Experts and Lumbini Maya Devi Garden Chief, Mr. Basant Bidari, the marathon’s final name has been chosen as:

Shakya Muni Buddha Lumbini Peace Marathon

because, Mr. Bidari argued that inscription on Ashokan Pillar that stands in Lumbini Maya Devi Garden installed by Emperor Ashoka describes that Shakya Muni Buddha was born here.