MARATHON
26.2 EPIC MILES
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles 385 yards), 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.
There are six world major marathons that are highly sought after and considered the gold standard for marathon running, for those of us who do not participate in the Olympics or World Championships. The six world major marathons are in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City, and Tokyo.
Pictured above in white is Molly Seidel representing Team USA at the 2020 Olympic Marathon held in Sapporo, Japan on August 9th, 2021 as part of the Tokyo Olympics. Seidel won the bronze medal, and was the third woman representing the United States in the Olympic marathon to medal. In November of 2021, Seidel went on to place 4th at the New York City Marathon, setting the course record for American women.
In 2022, the American records for the half marathon and marathon were broken by Sara Hall and Keira D'Amato, respectively. With so many records being set, it is a fantastic time to be a woman marathoner.