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• marathon
  marathon

  noun

  a footrace or wheelchair race over a course measuring 26 miles 385 yards (42 kilometers 195 meters).
• Marathon
  Marathon

  noun

  a plain in SE Greece, in Attica: the Athenians defeated the Persians here 490 b.c.

marathon

¹ American  

[mar-uh-thon, -thuhn] / ˈmær əˌθɒn, -θən /

noun

• marathons
  plural

1. a footrace or wheelchair race over a course measuring 26 miles 385 yards (42 kilometers 195 meters).

2. any long-distance race.

3. any contest, event, or the like, of great, or greater than normal, length or duration or requiring exceptional endurance.

   a dance marathon;

   a sales marathon.

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Marathon ² American  

[mar-uh-thon] / ˈmær əˌθɒn /

noun

1. a plain in SE Greece, in Attica: the Athenians defeated the Persians here 490 b.c.

2. an ancient village that is near this plain.

3. Classical Mythology. a son of Epopeus and the father of Corinthus.

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marathon ¹ British  

/ ˈmærəθən /

noun

1. a race on foot of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 kilometres): an event in the modern Olympics

2. 1. any long or arduous task, assignment, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a marathon effort

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Marathon ² British  

/ ˈmærəθən /

noun

1. a plain in Attica northeast of Athens: site of a victory of the Athenians and Plataeans over the Persians (490 _bc )

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Usage

What does marathon mean? A marathon is a 26. 22-mile (42. 2-kilometer) long-distance race. Technically, the exact length of a marathon is 26 miles 385 yards (42 kilometers 195 meters). But the length is mostly commonly stated as 26. 2 miles. Marathons are most commonly running races, but some people complete marathons in wheelchairs. Marathon courses are typically on roadways, often those in or around a city. The marathon is an event in the Summer Olympic Games. Major marathons are also held internationally in many major cities. Prominent events include the Boston Marathon, the New York Marathon, and the London Marathon. A marathon runner can be called a marathoner. A running race of 13. 1 miles is known as a half-marathon. The term ultramarathon refers to a race of 50 miles or more. The word marathon is also often used in a more general way to refer to a contest or event that takes a particularly long time and requires endurance, such as a dance marathon. A movie marathon involves several movies played consecutively. Sometimes, the word is used in a more figurative way to refer to a task or undertaking that takes a long time and requires patience, as in Be patient—learning karate is a marathon, not a sprint. Example: I’ve always wanted to run a marathon, so I started training today.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• marathons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of marathon

First recorded in 1895–1900; allusion to Pheidippides' 26-mile (42-kilometer) run from Marathon to Athens to carry news of the Greek victory over the Persians in 490 b.c.

Explanation

A marathon is a very long race that runners compete in — a 26 mile, 385 yard race, to be exact. When you're training for a marathon, you'll gradually increase the distance of your daily runs. The word marathon has ancient legendary roots: it comes from a long journey taken on foot by the Greek messenger Pheidippides, from the battlefields of Marathon to Athens in 490 BCE. As the story goes, he ran without stopping, announced to the citizens of Athens, "We have won," and promptly died. The marathon was one of the original Olympics events, and its difficulty inspired the figurative meaning of "any difficult undertaking."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

marathon Marathon marathons

“It is a marathon we run side by side with our partners.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Kipchoge is considered one of the greatest long-distance runners of all time, winning two Olympic marathon golds, plus a silver and bronze over 5000m.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

After his breakout marathon, though, he received a perk that’s less valuable but might be even more useful: a free one-year membership to Planet Fitness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

He’s used the apparatus for about 70% of his training mileage for Sunday’s marathon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

"That's it? She wanted to run a marathon?"

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds

American Vinny Mauri, who runs most of his miles at his local gym, is a top contender in Sunday’s Chicago Marathon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

He shocked the running world when he won Toledo’s Glass City Marathon in April, shattering the course record with a finish of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 54 seconds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

For those running the 2XU Long Beach Marathon Sunday morning, Kittell said he expects a 40% to 50% chance of rain during the day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

A game of rock, paper, scissors was used to determine when the elite female and male races will take place during next year's unique two-day London Marathon.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

And at the finish line at the end of the New York City Marathon it would sound like war.

From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer

"You don't need to run marathons," Corral said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

Helen described her late-husband as a calm, level-headed and "very active guy" who used to run marathons, even "before it was popular".

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

Long before Dante joined the military and Joey started running marathons, Thousand Steps Beach was always where they got their best workouts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Some of his claims about his life, including that he once ran 30 marathons in 35 days and raised millions for charities, were disputed.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

We had spelling bees and math marathons, or we stood up and said what we were going to do that summer, or what we would do if we were king of the world.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson