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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

Four nights later, No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany needed four hours, 33 minutes to beat Quentin Halys in another five-set Ashe marathon, finally finishing at about 2:15 a.m.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

“Retirement savings is a marathon, not a sprint.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

Critics, however, said the move reversed steps taken by Japan to modernise its corporate culture long centred around marathon work hours.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha has broken the men's half marathon world record, winning a World Athletics road race in Buenos Aires on Sunday in 56 minutes 51 seconds.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

“You’re telling me! And all I had to do was spaz out and run a marathon through the mall!”

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

Shares of Marathon Petroleum closed at an all-time high $397.77 on Tuesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Among those gathered were executives from Chevron, Valero Energy, Marathon Petroleum and PBF Energy, among others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

The newly described fossils of C. praecursor were found in calcareous claystone concretions in the Tesnus Formation of the Marathon Uplift in western Texas.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

The BBC has reached out to Sydney Marathon for comment.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

I carefully studied every inch of the Disney Marathon Fundraiser to Beat Diabetes website.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

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 reports focused on the strangest claims by Arday of his personal achievements, including that he ran 30 marathons in 35 days, some partly with a fracture in his leg.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Drinks have been logged from engagements, weddings, 12-week pregnancy scans, driving tests and marathons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

The athlete who enjoys biking with friends, taking his daughters to the beach, doing cross-fit and running marathons is determined not to let his injury slow him down.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 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