Marathon Marathon The marathon is a long-distance race, completed by running, walking, or a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair divisions. The marathon has an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 miles; 26 miles 385 yards), usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens, who reported the victory. The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each
Budapest Marathon In 1996, the marathon event was moved to autumn, while the half marathon remained in spring. The sponsor was changed to Kaiser's-Plus. In 2009 Spar bought Plus, which meant the marathon's name was also changed to "Spar Budapest Marathon", which it remains. This year saw over 13,000 participants, with 2,388 running the full length. The number of people increased every year, so in 2016 there were over 28,000 participants, with 4,969 running the whole marathon. In the early history of the race, it was known as the Csepeli Nemzetközi Maraton (Csepel International Marathon). It obtained its current name in 1984.