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.
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.
Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10000-metre from 2004 until 2020. He won the gold medal in both the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver medal in the 5000 m.
Siberian International Marathon(SIM) (Russian: Сибирский международный марафон) has been held in the city of Omsk since 1990, when the city was first opened to foreigners. The summer marathon is part of the City Days festivities. It takes place during the week of St. Ilya's Day, the patron saint of Omsk, in early August. The marathon itself takes place during the first Saturday of August. The winter half-marathon is during the January 7 Orthodox Christmas week.
The Prague Marathon is an annual road marathon held in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic each May. It was founded in 1995 and has grown to become a significant event, being awarded IAAF Gold Label status. Prague's marathon course has been voted one of the most beautiful in the world.
Lena Alekseevna Hades is a Russian artist, writer and art theorist.
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized at the 5000 metre distance. Regarded as one of the greatest marathon runners of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon champion, and was the world record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:01:09 set at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, until that record was broken by Kelvin Kiptum at the Chicago Marathon on 8 October 2023 with a time of 2:00:35. He has run five of the nine fastest marathons in history.
The Beijing Marathon is an annual marathon race held around October in Beijing, People's Republic of China, since 1981. The race begins at Tiananmen Square and finishes in Celebration Square in Olympic Green. The full marathon is the only distance offered.
Delhi Half Marathon, currently branded as the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is an AIMS-certified course and is listed as a Gold Label Road Race by the IAAF. The race has seen the best of the athletes competing since the course is considered one of the fastest half marathon route. The event sees about 40,000 participants through the race categories of half marathon, the 7 km Great Delhi Run, a 4.3 km run for senior citizens, and a 3.5 km wheelchair race
The Vienna City Marathon is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195 km held in Vienna, Austria since 1984.
Aleksey Vladimirovich Sokolov is a marathon runner. He represented his country at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He won the Dublin Marathon twice and was Russia's national marathon champion in 2007. His time of 2:09:07 hours in Dublin that year is the Russian record for the event.
The Dalian International Marathon is an annual marathon held in Dalian, China. It is recognized by IRRA and China Athletic Association of Road Running Committee. It was first held in 1987, making it one of the oldest races in China.
The Beppu-Ōita Mainichi Marathon is an annual men's marathon race that takes place every February between the cities of Beppu and Ōita on the island of Kyushu in Japan. The race has IAAF Silver Label Road Race status and is a listed course of AIMS.
The Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon is an annual marathon race which takes place in Madrid, Spain, in late April. The event was first held in 1978 and has since gained IAAF Gold Label Road Race status and had over 15,000 runners participate in the 2017 edition. A 10 km road race was added in 2010 and a Half Marathon road race was added in 2012.
The World 10K Bengaluru is an annual 10 kilometres road running competition which takes place in Bangalore, India. The competition was first held in 2008 and usually takes place in late May. The first three editions were sponsored by Sunfeast.
Erba Tiki Gelana is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. Her personal best of 2:18:58 had been the Ethiopian national record for the event from 2012 to 2017. She won the 2011 Amsterdam Marathon and the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon. She won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics with a time of 2:23:07, a new Olympic record.
The Copenhagen Half Marathon is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place in September on the city streets of Copenhagen, Denmark, first held in 2015. It is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, making it the foremost race of its type in the country. The race features both public and professional elements.
The men's marathon event at the 2020 Summer Olympics started at 07:00 on 8 August 2021 in Sapporo, Japan. 106 athletes from 46 nations competed. The previous Olympic champion, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, successfully defended his title, with Dutch and Belgian athletes Abdi Nageeye and Bashir Abdi gaining silver and bronze, respectively. Kipchoge was the third man to repeat as Olympic marathon champion, after Abebe Bikila and Waldemar Cierpinski. The Netherlands and Belgium earned their first men's marathon medals since 1980 and 1976, respectively.
The women's marathon event at the 2020 Summer Olympics started at 06:00 on 7 August 2021 in Sapporo. Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya won gold in 2:27:20 followed by world record holder and Kenyan teammate Brigid Kosgei with silver, and American Molly Seidel winning the bronze medal in her third-ever marathon.
The 2018 Russian Athletics Championships was held July 19-22 at Central Stadium in Kazan. The capital of Tatarstan hosted the event for the third time, having done so previously in 2008 and 2014. Around 1000 athletes from 76 regions of the country participated in the competition. Over the course of four days, 38 events were contested.
Artem Alekseev 
