A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Athletics Marathon | |
|---|---|
 Competitors during the 2007 Berlin Marathon | |
| World records | |
| Men |  Kelvin Kiptum 2:00:35 (2023) |
| Women |  Tigst Assefa 2:11:53 (2023) |
| Olympic records | |
| Men | Samuel Wanjiru 2:06:32 (2008) |
| Women | Tiki Gelana 2:23:07 (2012) |
| World Championship records | |
| Men | Tamirat Tola 2:05:36 (2022) |
| Women | Gotytom Gebreslase 2:18:11 (2022) |
The marathon (from Greek Μαραθώνιος) is a long-distance foot race with a distance of 42.195 km (26 mi 385 yd),[1] usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair divisions. More than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes, as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.[2]
The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896. The distance did not become standardized until 1921. The distance is also included in the World Athletics Championships, which began in 1983. It is the only running road race included in both championship competitions (walking races on the roads are also contested in both).
History
Origin
The name Marathon comes from the legend of Pheidippides, the Greek messenger. The legend states that, while he was taking part in the Battle of Marathon, which took place in August or September 490 BC,[3] he witnessed a Persian vessel changing its course towards Athens as the battle was near a victorious end for the Greek army. He interpreted this as an attempt by the defeated Persians to rush into the city to claim a false victory or simply raid,[4] hence claiming their authority over Greek land. It was said that he ran the entire distance to Athens without stopping, discarding his weapons and even clothes to lose as much weight as possible, and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "we have won!", before collapsing and dying.[5]
The account of the run from Marathon to Athens first appeared in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the first century AD, which quoted from Heraclides Ponticus's lost work, giving the runner's name as either Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles.[6] This was the account adopted by Benjamin Haydon for his painting 
Eucles Announcing the Victory of Marathon, published as an engraving in 1836 with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon.[7] Satirist Lucian of Samosata gave one of the earliest accounts similar to the modern version of the story, but its historical veracity is disputed based on its tongue-in-cheek writing and the runner being referred to as Philippides and not Pheidippides.[8][9][full citation needed]
There is debate about the historical accuracy of this legend.[10][11] The Greek historian Herodotus, the main source for the Greco-Persian Wars, mentioned Philippides as the messenger who ran from Athens to Sparta asking for help, and then ran back, a distance of over 240 kilometres (150 mi) each way.[12] In some Herodotus manuscripts, the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta is given as Philippides. Herodotus makes no mention of a messenger sent from Marathon to Athens, and relates that the main part of the Athenian army, having fought and won the grueling battle, and fearing a naval raid by the Persian fleet against an undefended Athens, marched quickly back from the battle to Athens, arriving the same day.[13]
In 1879, Robert Browning wrote the poem Pheidippides. Browning's poem, his composite story, became part of late 19th century popular culture and was accepted as a historic legend.[14]
Mount Pentelicus stands between Marathon and Athens, which means that Philippides would have had to run around the mountain, either to the north or to the south. The latter and more obvious route is followed by the modern Marathon-Athens highway (EO83–EO54), which follows the lay of the land southwards from Marathon Bay and along the coast, then takes a gentle but protracted climb westwards towards the eastern approach to Athens, between the foothills of Mounts Hymettus and Penteli, and then gently downhill to Athens proper. This route, as it existed when the Olympics were revived in 1896, was approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) long. It was the approximate distance originally used for marathon races. However, there have been suggestions that Philippides might have followed another route: a westward climb along the eastern and northern slopes of Mount Penteli to the pass of Dionysos, and then a straight southward downhill path to Athens. This route is slightly shorter, 35 kilometres (22 mi), but includes a very steep climb over the first 5 kilometres (3.1 mi).
Modern Olympic marathon
When the modern Olympics began in 1896, the initiators and organizers were looking for a great popularizing event, recalling the glory of ancient Greece. The idea of a marathon race came from Michel Bréal, who wanted the event to feature in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was heavily supported by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, as well as by the Greeks.[15] A selection race for the Olympic marathon was held on 22 March 1896 (Gregorian)[a] that was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes.[16] The winner of the first Olympic marathon, on 10 April 1896 (a male-only race), was Spyridon Louis, a Greek water-carrier, in 2 hours 58 minutes and 50 seconds.[17] The marathon of the 2004 Summer Olympics was run on the traditional route from Marathon to Athens, ending at Panathinaiko Stadium, the venue for the 1896 Summer Olympics. That men's marathon was won by Italian Stefano Baldini in 2 hours 10 minutes and 55 seconds, a record time for this route until the non-Olympics Athens Classic Marathon of 2014, when Felix Kandie lowered the course record to 2 hours 10 minutes and 37 seconds.
The women's marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles, US) and was won by Joan Benoit of the United States with a time of 2 hours 24 minutes and 52 seconds.[20]
It has become a tradition for the men's Olympic marathon to be the last event of the athletics calendar, on the final day of the Olympics.[21] For many years the race finished inside the Olympic stadium; however, at the 2012 Summer Olympics (London), the start and finish were on The Mall,[22] and at the 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio de Janeiro), the start and finish were in the Sambódromo, the parade area that serves as a spectator mall for Carnival.[23]
Often, the men's marathon medals are awarded during the closing ceremony (including the 2004 games, 2012 games and 2016 games).
The Olympic men's record is 2:06:32, set at the 2008 Summer Olympics by Samuel Kamau Wanjiru of Kenya.[24] The Olympic women's record is 2:23:07, set at the 2012 Summer Olympics by Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia.[25] The men's London 2012 Summer Olympic marathon winner was Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda (2:08:01). Per capita, the Kalenjin ethnic group of Rift Valley Province in Kenya has produced a highly disproportionate share of marathon and track-and-field winners.[26]
Marathon mania
The Boston Marathon began on 19 April 1897, and was inspired by the success of the first marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics. It is the world's oldest annual marathon, and ranks as one of the world's most prestigious road racing events. Its course runs from Hopkinton in southern Middlesex County to Copley Square in Boston. Johnny Hayes' victory at the 1908 Summer Olympics also contributed to the early growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States.[27][28] Later that year, races around the holiday season including the Empire City Marathon held on New Year's Day 1909 in Yonkers, New York, marked the early running craze referred to as "marathon mania".[29] Following the 1908 Olympics, the first five amateur marathons in New York City were held on days that held special meanings: Thanksgiving Day, the day after Christmas, New Year's Day, Washington's Birthday, and Lincoln's Birthday.[30]
Frank Shorter's victory in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics would spur national enthusiasm for the sport more intensely than that which followed Hayes' win 64 years earlier.[28] In 2014, an estimated 550,600 runners completed a marathon within the United States.[31] This can be compared to 143,000 in 1980. Today marathons are held all around the world on a nearly weekly basis.[32]
Inclusion of women
For a long time after the Olympic marathon started, there were no long-distance races, such as the marathon, for women. Although a few women, such as Stamata Revithi in 1896, had run the marathon distance, they were not included in any official results.[33][34] Marie-Louise Ledru has been credited as the first woman to complete a marathon, in 1918.[35][36][37] Violet Piercy has been credited as the first woman to be officially timed in a marathon, in 1926.[33]
Arlene Pieper became the first woman to officially finish a marathon in the United States when she completed the Pikes Peak Marathon in Manitou Springs, Colorado, in 1959.[38][39] Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon "officially" (with a number), in 1967.[40] However, Switzer's entry, which was accepted through an "oversight" in the screening process, was in "flagrant violation of the rules", and she was treated as an interloper once the error was discovered.[41] Bobbi Gibb had completed the Boston race unofficially the previous year (1966),[42] and was later recognized by the race organizers as the women's winner for that year, as well as 1967 and 1968.[43]
Distance
| Year | Distance (km) |
Distance (miles) |
|---|---|---|
| 1896 | 40 | 24.85 |
| 1900 | 40.26 | 25.02 |
| 1904 | 40 | 24.85 |
| 1906 | 41.86 | 26.01 |
| 1908 | 42.195 | 26.22 |
| 1912 | 40.2 | 24.98 |
| 1920 | 42.75 | 26.56 |
| 1924 onward | 42.195 | 26.22 |
The length of an Olympic marathon was not precisely fixed at first, but the marathon races in the first few Olympic Games were about 40 kilometres (25 mi),[44] roughly the distance from Marathon to Athens by the longer, flatter route. The exact length depended on the route established for each venue.
1908 Olympics
The International Olympic Committee agreed in 1907 that the distance for the 1908 London Olympic marathon would be about 25 miles or 40 kilometers. The organizers decided on a course of 26 miles from the start at Windsor Castle to the royal entrance to the White City Stadium, followed by a lap (586 yards 2 feet; 536 m) of the track, finishing in front of the Royal Box.[45][46] The course was later altered to use a different entrance to the stadium, followed by a partial lap of 385 yards to the same finish.
The modern 42.195 km (26.219 mi) standard distance for the marathon was set by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) in May 1921[47][48][49][50] directly from the length used at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.
IAAF and world records
An official IAAF marathon course is 42.195 km (42 m tolerance only in excess).[51] Course officials add a short course prevention factor of up to one meter per kilometer to their measurements to reduce the risk of a measuring error producing a length below the minimum distance.
For events governed by IAAF rules, it is mandatory that the route be marked so that all competitors can see the distance covered in kilometers.[1] The rules make no mention of the use of miles. The IAAF will only recognize world records that are established at events that are run under IAAF rules. For major events, it is customary to publish competitors' timings at the midway mark and also at 5 km splits; marathon runners can be credited with world records for lesser distances recognized by the IAAF (such as 20 km, 30 km and so on) if such records are established while the runner is running a marathon, and completes the marathon course.[52]
Marathon races
Annually, more than 800 marathons are organized worldwide.[53] Some of these belong to the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) which has grown since its foundation in 1982 to embrace over 300 member events in 83 countries and territories.[54] The marathons of Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City and Tokyo form the biennial World Marathon Majors series, awarding $500,000 annually to the best overall male and female performers in the series.
In 2006, the editors of Runner's World selected a "World's Top 10 Marathons",[55] in which the Amsterdam, Honolulu, Paris, Rotterdam, and Stockholm marathons were featured along with the five original World Marathon Majors events (excluding Tokyo). Other notable large marathons include United States Marine Corps Marathon, Los Angeles, and Rome. The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, inspired by the success of the 1896 Olympic marathon and held every year since 1897 to celebrate Patriots' Day, a holiday marking the beginning of the American Revolution, thereby purposely linking Athenian and American struggle for democracy.[56] The oldest annual marathon in Europe is the Košice Peace Marathon, held since 1924 in Košice, Slovakia. The historic Polytechnic Marathon was discontinued in 1996. The Athens Classic Marathon traces the route of the 1896 Olympic course, starting in Marathon on the eastern coast of Attica, site of the Battle of Marathon of 490 BC, and ending at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.[57]
The Midnight Sun Marathon is held in Tromsø, Norway at 70 degrees north. Using unofficial and temporary courses, measured by GPS, races of marathon distance are now held at the North Pole, in Antarctica and over desert terrain. Other unusual marathons include the Great Wall Marathon on The Great Wall of China, the Big Five Marathon among the safari wildlife of South Africa, the Great Tibetan Marathon – a marathon in an atmosphere of Tibetan Buddhism at an altitude of 3,500 metres (11,500 ft), and the Polar Circle Marathon on the permanent ice cap of Greenland.
A few marathons cross international and geographical borders. The Istanbul Marathon is the only marathon where participants run over two continents (Europe and Asia) during the course of a single event.[b] In the Detroit Free Press Marathon, participants cross the US/Canada border twice.[59] The Niagara Falls International Marathon includes one international border crossing, via the Peace Bridge from Buffalo, New York, United States to Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. In the Three Countries Marathon, participants run through Germany, Switzerland and Austria.[60]
On 20 March 2018, an indoor Marathon took place in the Armory in New York City. The 200 m track saw a world record in the women's and men's field. Lindsey Scherf (USA) set the indoor women's world record with 2:40:55. Malcolm Richards (USA) won in 2:19:01 with a male indoor world record.[61]
Wheelchair division
Many marathons feature a wheelchair division. Typically, those in the wheelchair racing division start their races earlier than their running counterparts.
The first wheelchair marathon was in 1974 in Toledo, Ohio, won by Bob Hall in 2:54.[62][63] Hall competed in the 1975 Boston Marathon and finished in 2:58, inaugurating the introduction of wheelchair divisions into the Boston Marathon.[64][65] From 1977 the race was declared the US National Wheelchair championship.[66] The Boston Marathon awards $10,000 to the winning push-rim athlete.[67] Ernst van Dyk has won the Boston Marathon wheelchair division ten times and holds the world record at 1:18:27, set in Boston in 2004.[68] Jean Driscoll won eight times (seven consecutively) and holds the women's world record at 1:34:22.[69]
The New York City Marathon banned wheelchair entrants in 1977, citing safety concerns, but then voluntarily allowed Bob Hall to compete after the state Division of Human Rights ordered the marathon to show cause.[70][71] The Division ruled in 1979 that the New York City Marathon and New York Road Runners club had to allow wheelchair athletes to compete, and confirmed this at appeal in 1980,[72] but the New York Supreme Court ruled in 1981 that a ban on wheelchair racers was not discriminatory as the marathon was historically a foot race.[73] However, by 1986 14 wheelchair athletes were competing,[74] and an official wheelchair division was added to the marathon in 2000.[67]
Some of the quickest people to complete a wheel-chair marathon include Thomas Geierpichler (Austria) who won gold in men's T52-class marathon (no lower limb function) in 1 hr 49 min 7 sec in Beijing China, on 17 September 2008; and, Heinz Frei (Switzerland) who won the men's T54 marathon (for racers with spinal cord injuries) in a time of 1 hr 20 min and 14 sec in Oita, Japan, 31 October 1999.[75]
Statistics
World records and world's best
World records were not officially recognized by the IAAF, now known as World Athletics, until 1 January 2004; previously, the best times for the marathon were referred to as the 'world best'. Courses must conform to World Athletics standards for a record to be recognized. However, marathon routes still vary greatly in elevation, course, and surface, making exact comparisons impossible. Typically, the fastest times are set over relatively flat courses near sea level, during good weather conditions and with the assistance of pacesetters.[76]
The current world record time for men over the distance is 2 hours and 35 seconds, set in the Chicago Marathon by the late Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya on 8 October 2023.
The world record for women was set by Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia in the Berlin Marathon on 24 September 2023, in 2 hours 11 minutes and 53 seconds. This broke the previous record set by Brigid Kosgei of Kenya in the Chicago Marathon on 13 October 2019, in 2 hours 14 minutes and 4 seconds who broke the record Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain had set over 16 years earlier at the London Marathon.
All-time top 25
| Tables show data for two definitions of "Top 25" - the top 25 marathon times and the top 25 athletes: |
| - denotes top performance for an athlete in the top 25 marathon times |
| - denotes lesser performances, still in the top 25 marathon times, by a repeat athlete |
| - denotes top performance (only) for other top 25 athletes who fall outside the top 25 marathon times |
The data is correct as of 22 April 2024[update].[77][78][79][80]
Men
| Ath.# | Perf.# | Time | Athlete | Nation | Date | Place | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2:00:35 | Kelvin Kiptum | Kenya |
8 October 2023 | Chicago | [81] |
| 2 | 2 | 2:01:09 | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya |
25 September 2022 | Berlin | [82] |
| 3 | 2:01:25 | Kiptum #2 | 23 April 2023 | London | |||
| 4 | 2:01:39 | Kipchoge #2 | 16 September 2018 | Berlin | |||
| 3 | 5 | 2:01:41 | Kenenisa Bekele | Ethiopia |
29 September 2019 | Berlin | [83] |
| 4 | 6 | 2:01:48 | Sisay Lemma | Ethiopia |
3 December 2023 | Valencia | [84] |
| 7 | 2:01:53 | Kiptum #3 | 4 December 2022 | Valencia | [85] | ||
| 5 | 8 | 2:02:16 | Benson Kipruto | Kenya
|
3 March 2024 | Tokyo | [86] |
| 9 | 2:02:37 | Kipchoge #3 | 28 April 2019 | London | [87] | ||
| 10 | 2:02:40 | Kipchoge #4 | 6 March 2022 | Tokyo | [88] | ||
| 11 | 2:02:42 | Kipchoge #5 | 24 September 2023 | Berlin | [89] | ||
| 6 | 12 | 2:02:48 | Birhanu Legese | Ethiopia |
29 September 2019 | Berlin | [83] |
| 7 | 13 | 2:02:55 | Mosinet Geremew | Ethiopia |
28 April 2019 | London | [87] |
| Timothy Kiplagat | Kenya
|
3 March 2024 | Tokyo | [86] |