"The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a
distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles 385 yards),[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]"
[source: wikipedia/marathon]