A marathon is a very long running race, and its odd length of 26 miles 385 yards comes from the 1908 London Olympics, not from ancient Greece.
What Does Marathon Mean?
A marathon is a long-distance running race of 26 miles 385 yards (about 42.2 kilometres). It is one of the longest races that most people ever run.
People also use marathon for anything that goes on for a very long time, such as a film marathon or a marathon meeting.
It is a noun, and you can count it: one marathon, two marathons.
She trained for months to run her first marathon.
🔊 Pronunciation
MAR-uh-thon
The stress is on the first part. The th sounds like the th in think, with no buzz.
🗣️ Natural Examples
My cousin ran a marathon and then slept for a whole afternoon.
We had a cartoon marathon on Saturday, with snacks and a very long sofa.
The school held a reading marathon to raise money for new books.
Planning the class trip turned into a marathon meeting.
A half marathon is a race of about 13 miles, so it is half the distance.
🛠️ How to Use It
Marathon is common in sport and everyday talk.
- A marathon is a countable noun: a marathon, marathons.
- Use run a marathon or in a marathon.
- A half marathon is a shorter race of about half the distance.
- It also works as a describing word before a noun: a marathon session, a marathon effort.
🤝 Common Word Partners
- run a marathon
- train for a marathon
- a marathon runner
- a half marathon
- a marathon session
- a film marathon
👯 Similar and Related Words
- sprint: a very fast run over a short distance. It is the opposite of a marathon.
- relay: a race where a team shares the distance, passing a baton.
- race: any contest of speed. A marathon is one kind of race.
- half marathon: about 13 miles, half the length of a full marathon.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
Spelling. There is one r, one a and th at the end.
❌ maraton, marrathon
✅ marathon
Marathon means long, not short. Do not use it for something quick.
❌ The quiz was a marathon, so we finished in one minute.
✅ The quiz was a marathon, so it filled the whole morning.
The distance is not a round number. Do not say 26 miles exactly.
❌ A marathon is 26 miles.
✅ A marathon is 26 miles 385 yards.
💬 In a Conversation
Ben: How was the marathon?
Lena: I finished it, and I am never walking again.
Ben: Was it really that long?
Lena: Twenty-six miles, plus an extra 385 yards.
Ben: Those last 385 yards sound rude.
Lena: They were. I would like a chair now.
🕵️ Where Does It Come From?
The word comes from Marathon, a town in Greece. An old legend tells of a messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens, in 490 BC, to carry news of a Greek victory over the Persians. When the Olympic Games were revived in 1896 in Athens, they added a long race inspired by that legend, about 40 kilometres.
The exact length of today's marathon is much younger. At the 1908 London Olympics, the race ran from Windsor Castle to the stadium. The course came out at about 26 miles, and a further 385 yards were measured inside the stadium. The story goes that the course was set so the royal family could watch from near the start and the finish.
That distance was later made the official length of a marathon.
💡 The OddLingo Trick
Think of the number as two parts: 26 miles and 385 yards. The first part is a long run from a famous castle. The 385 yards are the tail, and they came from a stadium in London.
Next time you hear marathon, remember that the legend gave us the name, but a royal route gave us the strange number.