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.
Frank Charles Shorter is an American former long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. His Olympic success, along with the achievements of other American runners, is credited with igniting the running boom in the United States during the 1970s.
William Mervin Mills, also known as Tamakhóčhe Theȟíla, is an Oglala Lakota former track and field athlete who won a gold medal in the 10,000 metre run (6.2 mi) at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. His 1964 victory is considered one of the greatest Olympic upsets because he was a virtual unknown going into the event. He was the first non-European to win the Olympic event and remains the only winner from the Americas. A United States Marine, Mills is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
The Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) is an annual marathon held in Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Virginia. The mission of the MCM is to promote physical fitness, generate community goodwill, and showcase the organizational skills of the United States Marine Corps.
Dathan James Ritzenhein is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of On Athletics Club. He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009-2010, when it was broken by Bernard Lagat. He is a three-time national cross country champion with wins at the USA Cross Country Championships in 2005, 2008 and 2010. Formerly a Nike athlete for the majority of his professional career, Dathan joined the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project team in 2017. In early May 2020, he announced his retirement from competition. He signed with the Swiss shoe brand On shortly thereafter in June 2020 and currently acts as the coach for the OAC in Boulder, Colorado.
Kara Goucher is an American long-distance runner. She was the 10,000 meters silver medalist at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and represented the USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. She made her marathon debut in 2008 and finished third the following year at the Boston Marathon.
Michael Wardian is an American marathoner and ultra-marathoner. He won the 2008, 2009 and 2010 US 50 km championships and the 2011 US 50 mile championship. In 2008, he won the U.S. National 100 km championship. Wardian also is the 2007 JFK 50 Mile winner, and won the National Marathon in Washington D.C. three consecutive years (2006–2008), and in 2010, 2011 and 2012. He ran in Maldives Addu marathon on 29 June 2018 and got first place and MVR12000. In 2020, Wardian won the Quarantine Backyard Ultra, running nearly 263 miles over the course of 63 hours without sleeping in a repetitive neighborhood loop in Arlington, VA to follow social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mary Wittenberg is an American sports executive. She is currently President of the EF Education–EasyPost cycling team. She was previously the President and Chief Executive Officer of New York Road Runners (NYRR) through May 18, 2015. Wittenberg oversaw the TCS New York City Marathon and several other races, events, and programs that draw over 300,000 yearly participants.
Daniel J. Browne is an American distance runner. He has won numerous major American road race championships and was a member of the 2004 Olympic team in the 10 km and marathon.
Frances Anne "Francie" Larrieu Smith is an American track and field athlete. She was the flagbearer at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for the United States of America. Larrieu Smith was the third female American athlete to make five American Olympic teams, behind the six of fencer Jan York-Romary and Track and Field's Willye White. The feat was later equaled by basketball player Teresa Edwards, track and field's Gail Devers, cyclist/speedskater Chris Witty and swimmer Dara Torres. After one of the longest elite careers on record, she retired from that level of competition.
Guor Mading Maker, also known as Guor Marial, is a South Sudanese Olympic track and field athlete. He is a Dinka tribesman.
Courtney Lynn Thompson is an American former professional volleyball player who played as a setter for the United States women's national volleyball team. She won the 2005 national championship while playing for the University of Washington, and she set an NCAA record in career assists per game. Thompson won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship, silver at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Andrew Dumm is a long-distance runner. He competed with University of Virginia before he began running marathons. He was the winner of the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon. He is the younger brother of Brian Dumm, also a distance runner.
Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) was a recruitment program by the United States Department of Defense, through which legal non-immigrants with certain critical skills are recruited into the military services of US. Certain health care professionals and experts in certain languages relevant to the US military meet eligibility requirements for recruitment through this program. Soldiers belonging to the enlisted rank, and recruited through this program, become citizens of the United States, usually at the end of their Basic Combat Training (BCT).
Jared Ward is an American long distance runner. He qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics when he placed third in the marathon at the 2016 US Olympic Trials. He finished sixth at the 2016 Olympics.
The Warrior Games is a multi-sport event for wounded, injured or ill service personnel and veterans organized by the United States Department of Defense (DoD).
Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks is an American Paralympic swimmer who specializes in the 100m breaststroke distance.
Elkanah Kibet is a Kenyan-born American long distance runner. An alumnus of Auburn University, he is also a financial management technician in the United States Army and competes in marathons as a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program.
Sydney Barta is an American track and field athlete. An amputee, she competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. In 2019, she was awarded US Paralympics Track and Field Female High School Athlete of the Year.
