The Marathon

Over 1,100 marathons are run every year, and they all share one oddly specific distance: 26.2 miles. From ancient Greece to a British queen's request, here's the surprising story behind the marathon's decimal.

They also burn between 5-10 pounds of water weight, often feel more focused and elated (thanks to increased neurotransmitters), and, oddly enough, temporarily grow about a half-inch shorter due to back muscles tensing.

Even on a flat course, the event is a taxing ordeal. Now imagine those 26.2 miles climbing some of the world’s highest mountains (via the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon or the Kilimanjaro Trail Marathon), across the Great Wall of China, or trekking up the Inca Trail. These races won’t earn you a PR, but they will make for good stories.

Kenya's Sabastian Sawe won the 2026 London Marathon with a time of 1:59:30. In the same race, Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha ran 1:59:41. The two men were the first (and, to date, the only) runners to officially break the two-hour mark.

Two men broke the two-hour mark at the 2026 London Marathon, a feat previously unofficially achieved only by Eliud Kipchoge, thanks to a number of aides not permitted in an official race. Both men who broke the two-hour barrier in London wore the same shoe, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, a new model that weighs just over three ounces.

In 2019, Kenya's Kipchoge ran 1:59:40.2, though it was part of an exhibition that included numerous aids—including elite runners cutting his wind and a laser marking the necessary pace—not permitted in officially sanctioned events. As such, it is not eligible for the world record.

The feat was once considered impossible, but one of the world's greatest marathoners got to work (with the help of a team of scientists and some of the world's most elite distance runners) to break that boundary in Vienna in 2019. The final stretch of the run is an emotional moment for Kipchoge, who doesn't even appear to be winded.

Both the men’s and women’s world record holders in the marathon hail from the same region in Kenya. They’re Kalenjins, a minority ethnic group responsible for nearly 73% of the country’s Olympic gold medals in running. Studies have determined that the success is thanks to high-altitude training, a healthy diet, and a tradition of excellence.

The races—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, Sydney, and New York City—are on some of the best-known courses in the world and are run by some of the sport’s top athletes.

Legend has it that the first marathon took place in 490 BCE, when Pheidippides, an ancient Greek soldier, ran from the Battle of Marathon back to Athens—approximately 25 miles—to inform his people they’d defeated the Persians. The story is likely apocryphal: No Greek historian mentioned it until over 500 years later.