How long is a marathon?

The race recalls the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger said to have run from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens in 490 BC. At the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, the marathon was about 40 kilometres and was won by Greek runner Spyridon Louis. At the 1908 London Olympics the course ran from Windsor Castle to the royal box in the stadium, measuring 26 miles 385 yards. That distance, 42.195 kilometres, was adopted as the official standard in 1921. Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum set the men’s world record of 2:00:35 in Chicago in 2023.