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 throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes, as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.
Joan Benoit Samuelson is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woman at the Chicago Marathon for 32 years after winning the race in 1985. Her time at the Boston Marathon was the fastest time by an American woman at that race for 28 years. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.
William Henry Rodgers is an American runner, Olympian, and former record holder in the marathon. Rodgers is best known for his four victories in both the Boston Marathon, including three straight from 1978 to 1980, and 4 straight wins in the New York City Marathon, between 1976 and 1979.
Runner's World is a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners of all skills sets, published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Before its acquisition by Hearst, it was founded and published by Rodale, Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
Jeff Galloway is an American Olympian and the author of Galloway's Book on Running.
Hal Higdon is an American writer and runner known for his training plans. He is the author of 34 books, including the best-selling Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide. He has worked as a freelance writer since 1959, and has written a variety of subjects including a children's book that was made into an animated feature. He has contributed to Runner's World magazine longer than any other writer. He ran eight times in the United States Olympic Trials and won four World Masters Championships. He is one of the founders of the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA).
John Joseph "Johnny" Kelley was an American long-distance runner who won the 1957 Boston Marathon and the marathon at the 1959 Pan American Games. He was also a member of the United States Olympic teams of 1956 and 1960, competing in the marathon. He was often dubbed "Kelley the Younger" to avoid confusion with Johnny Kelley, winner of the 1935 and 1945 Boston Marathons; the two men were not related.
The Manchester Road Race is a 4.748 mile (7.641 km) footrace held annually on Thanksgiving Day in Manchester, Connecticut. Race proceeds are donated each year to Muscular Dystrophy research and about 18 other local charities. Beginning promptly at 10:00am every Thanksgiving Morning, the race attracts athletes of all ages and abilities. First run in 1927, the race regularly attracts accomplished runners from across the United States as well as internationally recognized competitors.
The women's marathon was one of the road events at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland. It took place on 7 August 1983, starting and finishing at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. The race was won by Norway's Grete Waitz in 2:28:09, ahead of Marianne Dickerson of the United States in second and the Soviet Union's Raisa Smekhnova in third.
Ronald Hill MBE was a British runner and clothing entrepreneur. He was the second man to break 2:10 in the marathon; he set world records at four other distances, and laid claim to the marathon world record. He ran two Olympic Marathons, and achieved a personal marathon record of 2:09:28. In 1970, Hill won the 74th Boston Marathon in a course record 2:10:30. He also won gold medals for the marathon at the European Championships in 1969 and the Commonwealth Games in 1970. Hill laid claim to the longest streak of consecutive days running – every day for 52 years and 39 days from 1964 to 2017.
Ron Tabb is a retired male long-distance runner from the United States, who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the men's marathon. He won the 1981 edition of the Paris Marathon ex-æquo with England's Dave Cannon. He won the 1983 Beijing Marathon and competed at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics later that year, finishing in 18th place overall. He qualified for the 1980 Olympic team but never competed due to the U.S. boycott on the Moscow Games that year. He once held the fifth fastest marathon time ever run by an American. Tabb is a four time United States Olympic trials qualifier. He is one of only four Americans to run more than 20 marathons under 2:20 and he is one of two Americans to a win major marathon on five different continents.
Dave McGillivray is a U.S.-based road race director, entrepreneur, philanthropist, motivational speaker, author, and athlete.
The 1970 Boston Marathon took place on Monday, April 20, 1970. It was the 74th time the Boston Marathon was organized, and featured 1,174 official entrants. This was the first edition of the race to have a qualifying standard, as the entry form stipulated "A runner must submit the certification...that he has trained sufficiently to finish the course in less than four hours."
John Duncan Semple was a Scottish-American runner, physical therapist, trainer, and sports official. In 1967, as a race official for the Boston Marathon, he attempted to stop the 20-year-old marathon runner Kathrine Switzer from continuing to run and knocked down her coach when he tried to protect her. Switzer was officially entered in the race in accordance with the Boston Marathon's rule book, which at that time made no mention of sex. Semple subsequently claimed that amateur rules banned women racing for more than 1.5 miles (2.4 km). He subsequently oversaw implementation of qualifying times in 1970 and, in response to lobbying and rule changes by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), the implementation of a separate women's race in 1972.
George Aaron Hirsch, is a magazine publisher, a founder of the five-borough New York City Marathon, a former unsuccessful candidate for Congress, and a television commentator. Hirsch was founding publisher of New York, New Times, and The Runner magazines. He also was publisher of Runner’s World, the first publishing director of Men's Health, and the publisher of La Cucina Italiana. He was the chairman of the board of New York Road Runners from 2005 until June 2023, when he became chairman emeritus.
Spirit of the Marathon II is a 2013 American documentary film directed by Jon Dunham. The film is the sequel to the 2007 film Spirit of the Marathon, and chronicles the journey seven marathon runners experience leading up to competing in the 2012 Rome Marathon. It received a one-night limited release on over 600 screens in the United States on June 12, 2013.
Sara Mae Berman is an American marathon runner. Berman won the Boston Marathon as an unofficial winner from 1969 to 1971 as women were not allowed to compete until 1972. At subsequent Boston Marathons, Berman had a fifth-place finish in both 1972 and 1973. Berman's wins were made official by the Boston Athletic Association in 1996. Outside of Boston, Berman finished third at the 1971 New York City Marathon. In 2015, she was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame. Berman is the daughter of Saul O Sidore and May Blum Sidore Gruber.
Gayle Barron is a former American marathon runner. From 1970 to 1978, Barron placed in the top five in marathons held across the United States and was the winner of the 1978 Boston Marathon. Barron was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
Judy Shapiro-Ikenberry is a former long-distance runner. Shapiro-Ikenberry won the 1967 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Las Vegas Marathon, and was the first USA Marathon Championships winner for women in 1974, at the AAU National Women's Marathon. She also won the 1977 US National 50-Mile Track Ultramarathon Championship.
Don Norman is an American middle-distance and long-distance running athlete who was a winner or top finisher in multiple US marathons.
