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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

Among them is British marathon runner Charlotte Purdue.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

His view is that momentum in the memory market is shifting from a sprint race to a long-distance marathon.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

In 2015, it became the first vehicle to complete a marathon distance on another world.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026

In order to better understand the Jason phenomenon, I tracked down the Shout Factory collection and staged my own marathon, watching all 12 films, including the crossover “Freddy vs. Jason” and the 2009 reboot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

I’d sifted through seven boxes of different-sized tortoiseshell buttons when Abby came bursting through the door, huffing air like she’d run a marathon.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Incredibly, the family survived tragedy during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

He also helped Cox on her Great Northern Marathon Challenge in 2025.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

On Sunday, Dobbin's younger sister Faye will run the Yorkshire Marathon to raise money for ME Research UK.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

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

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

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

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

Sir Kevin is aiming to complete seven ultra marathons in seven days, running between Hull and Manchester, in a challenge inspired by his former teammate Rob Burrow, who died from MND in 2024.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 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

It can be hard to resist videos of humanoid robots dancing, running marathons and sometimes crashing spectacularly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

They sprinted one day and rowed long, punishing ten- or twelve-mile marathons the next.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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