You searched for: “marathons
marathon (s) (noun), marathons (pl)
A foot race of 26 miles, 385 yards (42 kilometers, 195 meters), which was introduced in 1896 with the revival of the Olympic Games in order to commemorate the runner named Phidippides who carried the news of the defeat of the Persians by the Greeks to Athens; supposedly equal to the distance from Marathon: Since about 1915, the term marathon has also been applied to any competition that requires endurance in time and strength; as in a dance or a swimmer's marathon.

A marathon is also considered a test of courage and character as well as physical endurance.

Before the running of the marathon became popular as a mass-participation sportĀ in the 1970s, there were many who thought that such an activity required superhuman strength.

In the 1972 Munich, German, Olympics, the most memorable aspect of the marathon took place near the end of the race when a West German student, wearing a running uniform with the number 72, came out of the tunnel onto the stadium track ahead of leader Frank Shorter and pretended to be winning the race and got half-way around the track before he was stopped and removed by officials.

This entry is located in the following unit: marathon-; and related entries ending in -athon, -thon (page 1)
marathon (verb), marathons; marathoned; marathoning
To show strength, endurance, and vigor when competing with others in a race, etc.: The young woman was successfully marathoning against her much more experienced athletes who were also running in the race.
This entry is located in the following unit: marathon-; and related entries ending in -athon, -thon (page 1)