The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of 42 km 195 m, 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.
Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least 3 km (1.9 mi). Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength.
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain.
The American Birkebeiner, or Birkie, is the largest cross-country skiing race in North America. It debuted in 1973 and is a founding member of the Worldloppet federation of cross-country ski marathons. The Birkie's two premier events are the 50 km (31 mi) skate and the 55 km (34 mi) classic races between the towns of Cable and Hayward in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Each year more than 10,000 skiers participate in the Birkie, including the full-distances races, a 29 km (18 mi) Kortelopet race, and a 15 km (9.3 mi) Prince Haakon race.
An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres. The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running.
Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully assess that this is maintained throughout the race. Typically held on either roads or running tracks, common distances range from 3,000 metres (1.9 mi) up to 100 kilometres (62.1 mi).
Ekiden (駅伝) is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on roads.
The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently with a half marathon and a 5 km race. The 2007 race included the first-ever satellite running of the event, run simultaneously in Fallujah, Iraq.
Birkebeinerrennet is a long-distance cross-country ski marathon held annually in Norway. It debuted in 1932 and has been a part of Worldloppet since Worldloppet's inception in 1979.
The Rennsteiglauf is a trail running event on the Rennsteig path in the Thuringian Forest.
Edith van Dijk is a Dutch swimmer and 6-fold world champion. She is Holland's most successful open water swimmer and long distance swimmer, whose career started in 1990 taking part in the Dutch IJsselmeermarathon.
The Peachtree Road Race is a series of two 10-kilometer runs held annually in Atlanta on Independence Day. It was founded in 1970 and has been the world's largest 10k race, since the late 1970s. The race has become a citywide tradition in which over 70,000 amateur and professional runners try to register for one of the limited 60,000 spots. The event also includes a wheelchair race, which precedes the footrace. In recent years, the race also has a special division for soldiers stationed in the Middle East. The race attracts some of the world's elite 10K runners and has served as both the United States' men's and women's 10K championship.
The Atlanta Marathon is an annual marathon held in Atlanta, Georgia, except in 2021 where it was held in Hampton, Georgia on the premises of Atlanta Motor Speedway because of governmental restrictions. On the same day, a half marathon is also held, and some years also feature a 5K run.
The Neujahrsmarathon Zürich is a marathon race founded in 2005 that is held annually on January 1.
The S 25 Berlin is an annual road running competition over 25 kilometres that takes place in Berlin, Germany in early May.
The 2013 Tokyo Marathon was the seventh edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, Japan and was held on Sunday, 24 February. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event to be held that year and represented the first occasion that the Tokyo race was part of the elite-level marathon series.
Richer Pérez Cobas is a Cuban long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He was the gold medallist at the 2015 Pan American Games and the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games.
The Tromsø SkyRace was an international skyrunning competition held from 2014 until 2023. It ran every year in Tromsø (Norway) in August and consisted of four races both valid for the Skyrunner World Series.
Since 1986, nearly every year, various initiators organize marathons in the Olympus Mountains in Greece. For these Olympus Marathons the classic distance of 42.195 kilometers provides a clue to the distance of some of the runs in the Olympus. Starting in 2010, events established that surpass the classic marathon distance. In some races, runners run over distances of 57 km, 70 km or almost 100 km.
The 2019 Russian Athletics Championships was held from 24–27 July at the Olympic Stadium in Cheboksary. It was the seventh time that the capital of the Chuvash Republic hosted the event. The four-day competition featured 40 track and field events and was attended by 731 athletes from 72 regions of the country.
