marathoner
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What is a marathoner? A marathoner is someone who competes in or completes a marathon, a 26. 22-mile (42. 2-kilometer) long-distance race. Marathons are most commonly running races, and marathoners are perhaps most commonly called marathon runners. But some marathoners complete marathons in wheelchairs. The word marathoner can be applied to any participant in a marathon but is especially used to refer to a person who regularly competes in marathons. The term ultramarathon refers to a race of 50 miles or more, and the superhumans who compete in these can be called ultramarathoners. 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, or in a more figurative way to refer to a task or undertaking that takes a long time and requires patience. But the word marathoner isn’t commonly used in these contexts—it’s typically reserved for a racer in a literal marathon. Example: I’ve always wanted to run a marathon, so I started training as a marathoner today.
Etymology
Origin of marathoner
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Cahillane, a 6-foot-tall marathoner who sports a shock of white hair and a practiced poker face, was a seasoned food executive, fresh off the successful breakup of another food company: Kellogg.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
"It's very different to the track so it's totally new to me, but London was an incredible experience, and I can now call myself a marathoner."
From BBC • Jan. 24, 2026
This adjustability can be a good thing—imagine a marathoner repeating mantras to themself as they push through the final miles of a race—or a very bad thing.
From Slate • Sep. 15, 2025
The firm’s 2023 impact report highlighted its advocacy on behalf of a transgender competitive marathoner.
From Salon • Aug. 7, 2025
To be a 12-year-old marathoner, you need a level of grit that many 12-year-olds lack.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2024
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
