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.
Spartathlon is a 246-kilometre (153 mi) ultramarathon race held annually in Greece since 1983, between Athens and Sparti, the modern town on the site of ancient Sparta. The Spartathlon is based on the run of Pheidippides, who ran from Athens to Sparta before the Battle of Marathon in a day and a half to seek aid against the Persians. Five Royal Air Force officers attempted the course in 1982 and the competition was started the next year.
Gert Thys is a male long-distance runner from South Africa, who represented his native country in the marathon at the 1996 and 2004 Summer Olympics. Thys is a former African record holder in the marathon, and is the current holder of the South African record with his best of 2:06:33 from the 1999 Tokyo International Marathon, which was also the course record for that race.
Nadia Ejjafini is a Moroccan-born professional long-distance runner. She switched nationality from her birth country to Bahrain in 2003, and later became an Italian citizen by marriage in 2009.
Aheza Kiros is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specializes in the 10,000 metres.
Andriy Naumov or Andrii Naumov is a Ukrainian athlete who specialises in long distance running, principally the marathon.
Yemane Adhane Tsegay is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He won the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon with a personal best time of 2:04:48 hours. He has also won marathons in Eindhoven, Gyeongju, Macau and Taipei.
Nicholas Manza Kamakya is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running events, including marathons.
Alevtina Ivanova is a Russian long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She has won at the Prague International Marathon and the Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon. Ivanova has competed much on the road running circuit in the United States and has won the Beach to Beacon 10K, Crim 10-Mile Race, News and Sentinel Half Marathon and America's Finest City Half Marathon.
Anne Jepkemboi Kosgei is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running, including the marathon. She has won her first marathon races in San Sebastián and Trieste, and went on to win both the Belgrade Marathon and Venice Marathon in 2009. She set her personal best of 2:27:46 at the latter competition.
Raymond Kimutai Bett is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon.
Jonathan Kosgei Kipkorir is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running competitions, including marathons. He is a two-time winner of the Venice Marathon, with consecutive wins in 2006 and 2007, and won the 2010 Beppu-Ōita Marathon. He also competes over the half marathon and has wins from the Rome-Ostia Half Marathon and Porto Half Marathon. His personal best in the marathon is 2:07:31 while he has run 1:00:19 for the half marathon distance.
Svetlana Ponomarenko is a Russian long-distance runner who competes professionally in marathon races. She has a best of 2:29:55 hours for the distance. She won six consecutive marathons—going unbeaten from 2006 to 2008—winning in Frankfurt, Dallas (twice), Minneapolis, Nashville and Athens, Greece.
Ben Chebet Kipruto is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes professionally in marathon races. He is coached by Italian trainer Claudio Berardelli. He has a personal best time of 2:09:26 hours for the marathon distance and has won a number races in Europe, including the Italian Marathon, Florence Marathon and Maratona di Sant'Antonio in Padua.
Benson Kipchumba Barus is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in marathon and half marathon competitions. He has a personal best of 2:07:07 hours for the distance, set at the 2011 Prague Marathon, which he won. He also won the 2009 Turin Marathon and has placed top three in Rome, Beijing and Chuncheon.
Hafida Izem is a Moroccan marathon runner. She represented her country at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Based in Italy, she mainly competes in road races in the country, having won marathons in Bari, Treviso and Naples.
Mamitu Daska Molisa, also known as Mamitu Deska, is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running events, including the marathon. She is a two-time team silver medallist at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She has won the Dubai Marathon and Houston Marathon and has a personal best of 2:21:59 hours for the distance.
Olga Glok is a Russian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. She represented her country at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. She has a marathon best of 2:27:18 hours and has won the Prague Marathon and Twin Cities Marathon.
Caroline Jepchirchir Chepkwonynb is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running competitions.
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.
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