The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of 42.195 km, 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 worldwide each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes, as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.
The World Marathon Majors (WMM) is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on six major marathon races recognised as the most high-profile on the calendar, the series comprises annual races for the cities of Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. In addition, each edition of the series recognises and includes the results of the major global championship marathon held in that year, usually on a one-off lapped course. These races are the biennial World Athletics Championships Marathon, and the quadrennial Olympic Games Marathon.
The Ottawa Race Weekend is an annual weekend of road running events held the last weekend of May in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The two-day running event includes seven races, including the Ottawa Marathon, all of which start and end at Ottawa City Hall. The marathon was first held in 1975, and is categorized as an Elite Label Road Race by World Athletics. Over 40,000 participants take part in the races each year.
The Hong Kong Marathon, sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, is an annual marathon race held in January or February in Hong Kong. In addition to the full marathon, a 10 km run and a half marathon are also held. Around 70,000 runners take part each year across all events.
The Tokyo Marathon is an annual marathon sporting event in Tokyo, Japan. It is a World Athletics Platinum Label marathon and one of the six World Marathon Majors. The latest edition of the race took place on 3 March 2024. It is sponsored by Tokyo Metro.
The Riga Marathon is an annual road marathon held in Riga, Latvia, since 1991. A flat, single-lap marathon course in the Baltics' largest city. The marathon course has been measured and certified by AIMS, the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races and is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. All courses are traffic-free. Rimi Riga Marathon is one of the fastest-growing marathons in Northern Europe. In 2019, there were 25 659 participants over five different distances from 82 countries.
World Athletics Label Road Races are races that World Athletics designates as the "leading road races around the world." The classification was first introduced for the 2008 running season, upon the suggestion of the IAAF Road Running Commission. The races are split into three categories: marathons, half marathons and other. Within the "other" category are traditional road race distances, over which World Athletics world records can be set, along with some "Classical races", which span unusual distances. The Labels are considered a prestigious award by race organisers, and include the six World Marathon Majors.
The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the first modern Olympics in 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the programme at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The Kyiv Half Marathon is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance which is held in April on the streets of Kyiv, Ukraine since 2011. In 2015 Kyiv half marathon became a full member of the AIMS. It carries World Athletics Silver Label Road Race status. The race is part of the Run Ukraine Running League, an annual series of races held in Ukrainian cities.
The 2008 IAAF Road Race Label Events were the inaugural edition of the global series of road running competitions given Label status by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). All five World Marathon Majors had Gold Label status. The races were mostly in North America, Western Europe, and East Asia. It was the first year that the IAAF had provided the race designation. The series included a total of 49 road races, 12 Gold and 37 Silver Label status. In terms of distance, 32 races were marathons, 8 were half marathons, 6 were 10K runs, and 3 were held over other distances.
The 2019 IAAF Road Race Label Events are the twelfth edition of the global series of road running competitions given Label status by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The series included a total of 138 road races: 64 Gold Label, 25 Silver Label and 49 Bronze Label. In terms of distance, 88 races were marathons, 28 were half marathons, 15 were 10K runs, and 7 were held over other distances. The series included all six World Marathon Majors in the Gold category.
The 2015 IAAF Road Race Label Events were the eighth edition of the global series of road running competitions given Label status by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). All six World Marathon Majors had Gold Label status. The series included a total of 88 road races: 43 Gold, 27 Silver and 18 Bronze. In terms of distance, 55 races were marathons, 18 were half marathons, 10 were 10K runs, and 5 were held over other distances.
The 2012 IAAF Road Race Label Events were the fifth edition of the global series of road running competitions given Label status by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). All five World Marathon Majors had Gold Label status. The series included a total of 71 road races: 35 Gold, 21 Silver and 15 Bronze. In terms of distance, 44 races were marathons, 14 were half marathons, 10 were 10K runs, and 4 were held over other distances.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the most significant disruption to the worldwide sporting calendar since World War II. Across the world and to varying degrees, sports events were cancelled or postponed. The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were rescheduled to 2021. At the time, spectators had no games to watch and players no games to play. Only a few countries and territories—such as Hong Kong, Turkmenistan, Belarus, and Nicaragua—continued professional sporting matches as planned.
The 2020 London Marathon was the 40th running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 4 October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from 26 April and only allowed elite participants; the mass participation event was cancelled. The event used a different course from usual, consisting of multiple laps around St James's Park.
The 2021 New York City Marathon, the 50th running of that city's premier long-distance race, was held on November 7, 2021. Around 30,000 people ran in the event, of whom 25,020 finished. The race followed its traditional route, which passes through all five boroughs of New York City.
The 2021 London Marathon was the 41st running of the annual London Marathon on 3 October 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from April until October to maximise the chances of a mass participation event.
The 25K run is a long distance running footrace that is between the distance of a half marathon and a marathon. It was formerly an official world record distance in road running by World Athletics, but has since been downgraded to world best status. Separately, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians retains world records in the 25K distance. The ARRS holds different standards for records than World Athletics, with exclusions for certain point-to-point races and mixed sex races. As a result its women's world record is 1:26:34 by Nancy Conz, set in 1982.
The 2022 London Marathon was the 42nd running of the annual London Marathon on 2 October 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the race was postponed from April until October to maximise the chances of a mass participation event. The elite men's and women's event were won by Kenyan Amos Kipruto and Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw respectively. The wheelchair races were won by Swiss athletes Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner respectively, both in course record times. Over 40,000 people finished the mass participation event.
