Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance foot race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles 385 yards) that is usually run as a road race.

The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 800 marathons are contested throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes. Larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.

Most participants do not run a marathon to win. More important for most runners is their personal finish time and their placement within their specific gender and age group, though some runners want just to finish. Strategies for completing a marathon include running the whole distance and a run-walk strategy. An intermediate approach is to run from water stop to water stop, and walk through the water stop area to ensure the fluids are consumed instead of spilled.

Another goal is to break certain time barriers. For example, recreational first-timers often try to run the marathon under four hours; more competitive runners may attempt to finish in under three hours.