marathoner

[ mar-uh-thon-eror, especially British, -thuh-ner ]

noun

1. a runner who competes in a marathon.

marathoner

/ ˈmærəθənə /

noun

1. a person who runs in a marathon

Word History and Origins

Origin of marathoner¹

First recorded in 1920–25; marathon + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Earlier this month, after Eliud Kipchoge defended his Olympic title, it felt like we’d finally run out of superlatives for the most accomplished marathoner in history.

From Outside Online

Coming into Sunday’s marathon, there was some question of whether the defending Olympic champ and greatest marathoner in history still had the magic.

From Outside Online

Sure, the marathoners will be wearing new-generation shoes, but that technology is now well-known and available from a wide variety of shoe brands.

From Outside Online

Cushioning in the toe and heel provides support for your feet when you hit the pavement while jogging, whereas a marathoner who runs long distances might need compression socks.

From Popular-Science

I consider myself an elite athlete and at the end of the day I train like an elite marathoner and do everything that they do.

From Outside Online

There is much to do well within marathoner distance for everybody who is willing.

From The Daily Beast

“I definitely thought twice about running,” says Claire Sabel, a first-time marathoner who has been training since the summer.

From The Daily Beast

There she was, sprinting like a Marathoner for the barbed-wire fence that enclosed the lot.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• contestant
• entrant
• hurdler
• racer
• sprinter

More About Marathoner

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. 

Where does marathoner come from?

The word marathoner has been used since at least the 1920s. The first records of the word marathon in English in reference to the race come from the 1890s. It comes from the name of a plain in Greece known as Marathon, where the Athenians defeated the Persians in 490 b.c.e. According to legend, an Athenian messenger named Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of the Athenian victory—a distance of around 26 miles. Pheidippides is also said to have run to Sparta before the battle to secure aid from the Spartans.

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.

The endings -thon and -athon are taken from marathon and used in the names of events involving a specific activity being done for a particularly long time and for a specific purpose, often as a contest or to raise money or both. Examples include walkathon, telethon, and dance-a-thon.

Did you know … ?

What are some synonyms for marathoner?

• marathon runner

What are some other forms related to marathoner?

• marathon (noun)
• half-marathon (noun)
• ultramarathon (noun)

What are some words that often get used in discussing marathoner?

• runner
• long-distance
• race
• course
• endurance
• finish
• train

How is marathoner used in real life?

Marathoner in running races are also commonly called marathon runners. 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.

On October 12, Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge attempted to become the first human in history to run 26.2 miles in under two hours.

He accomplished this breathtaking feat with relative ease, finishing the test in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds https://t.co/FdPYFRm3Kj

— TIME (@TIME) October 31, 2019

Olympic marathoner allowed to bring her nursing baby to Tokyo after pushing for change https://t.co/mPDMdSnjBF

— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 5, 2021

A visit to the tiny Swiss village that churns out one champion wheelchair marathoner after another https://t.co/tdz07bvaHl

— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 4, 2018

Try using marathoner!

True or False?

All marathoners are runners.