■ noun
1》 a long-distance running race, strictly one of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km).
2》 a long-lasting and difficult task or activity: [as modifier ] the band's ~ UK tour.
Derivatives
~er noun
Word History
The race was named at the time of the 1896 Olympics after Marathon in Greece, the scene of a battle in which the Athenians defeated the Persians in 490 BC. It is based on the tradition that a messenger ran from Marathon to Athens (22 miles) with news of the victory, falling dead on arrival; the present standardized distance dates from 1924. However, the original account by the historian Herodotus told of the messenger Pheidippides running 150 miles from Athens to Sparta before the battle, seeking help.