A marathon is a long-distance running race that covers exactly 26.2 miles (or 42.195 kilometers). This specific distance comes from an ancient Greek legend about a messenger named Pheidippides, who supposedly ran from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce victory in a battle. When the modern Olympic Games began in 1896, organizers created the marathon race to honor this story.

Running a marathon requires months of training and tremendous endurance. Most runners take between four and six hours to finish, and many people train for a year or more before attempting one. Completing a marathon is considered a major personal achievement because it demands dedication, perseverance, and the ability to push through discomfort.

The word has also become a way to describe any long, exhausting activity. When you watch several movies in a row, you might call it a movie marathon. If your family spends all day cleaning the house, someone might joke about the cleaning marathon you just finished. In these cases, marathon suggests something that requires sustained effort and seems to go on and on.