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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

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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.

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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

Tanden has finished up her marathon day with an appearance on CNN; she sparred with Scott Jennings about Donald Trump’s flagging poll numbers.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

In 2019 he became the first person to break the two-hour marathon barrier under special conditions in Vienna, clocking an unofficial time of one hour 59 minutes 40 seconds.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Each marathon will raise funds for the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation, which focuses on education, environmental sustainability and health.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

After college, when he struggled to put his degree in biomedical engineering to good use, he set his sights on the marathon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

I was gasping for breath like I’d just run a marathon.

From "The Honest Truth" by Dan Gemeinhart

Spaggiari, who is not part of the pope’s medical team, also said one of his patients ran the New York Marathon after having a lung removed.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

Two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge says "his body is still peaking" after winning the Melbourne Marathon in a course record time at the age of 41.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

No longer an unknown, the treadmill phenom is eyeing a bigger prize when he laces up for the Chicago Marathon on Sunday.

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

She had previously signed up for doing roadside security for the Top of Utah Marathon, which was being held the next morning.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

But Ward has been asked to verify his disability further, with one council worker suggesting amputees can run marathons - a level of physical endurance he insists he does not have.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

But after losing much of his depth perception, he traded that passion for running, completing 79 marathons, his family said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 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

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