Top 100 International Marathons | Running Equipment

The MARATHON is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), that is 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.

The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 500 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes. Smaller marathons, such as the Stanley Marathon, can have just dozens of participants, while larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.

Marathon & Running News, Reviews & Resources

• 5 Cheap(ish) Things to Get You Started With Trail Running - "Trail running is like stepping into a different world. Here’s the gear to get you there."
• 10 commandments of running etiquette - The Telegraph.
• 10 reasons Yuki Kawauchi, Boston marathon winner, should be your favourite runner - The Guardian.
• 10 things no one tells you before you run an ice marathon - The Telegraph.
  
• 1:59:40! Eliud Kipchoge makes history as he shatters two-hour marathon barrier in Vienna by 20 SECONDS - using LASER guidance, 41 pace-makers and groundbreaking shoes.
• a beginner’s guide to running - "Start slow, wear what you like, watch out for zombies. There’s a replacement to your pre-lockdown workout right outside your door. Experienced runners explain how to get started."
• A beginner's guide to running: 10 quick tips - The Guardian.
• A graphic look at the world's toughest running races - The Telegraph.
• Ahead of the pack: the best books about running - The Guardian.
• Any amount of running reduces risk of early death, study finds - "Any amount of running is good for you, according to research suggesting it is linked to a similar reduction in the risk of early death no matter how many hours you clock up a week or how fast you go."
• BEST FITNESS TRACKERS: FROM STEP COUNTING TO TRAIL RUNNING - "What's The Best Fitness Tracker for You?"
• BEST HIGH TECH SOCKS TO TACKLE YOUR NEXT RUN OR WORKOUT - Wired.
• Best running gear 2022: top gadgets to keep you motivated - "From music on the go to GPS watches and apps such as Strava, tech to help you clock up the miles."
• Best Running Gear for Cold, Wet Conditions - "The weather outside is still far from delightful. Wrap yourself up in some of our favorite picks for cold and dreary days."
• Best Running Headphones - The Wirecutter.
• CAN NIKE'S NEW MARATHON SHOES MAKE YOU FASTER? A NIKE-FUNDED STUDY SAYS YES - Wired.
• Caught the marathon bug? 20 races & running holidays for you to tackle - The Telegraph.
• Compartment syndrome - increased pressure within one of the body's compartments which contains muscles and nerves. Compartment syndrome most commonly occurs in compartments in the leg or arm. Chronic exertional compartment syndrome usually occurs in athletes who participate in repetitive impact sports such as running.
• Coros Pace 2 Sport is an ultralight GPS watch for competitive runners - "Coros claims it's the lightest model on the market."
• Does running build muscle? - "Does running build muscle? We dig into the science."
• Don't like running? Then try the slow man's marathon - The Telegraph.
• Eliud Kipchoge smashes world marathon record by 77 seconds in Berlin - The Guardian.
• Eliud Kipchoge's record-breaking Nike shoes under scrutiny - "Running is supposed to be one of the purest sports, but a technological arms race in shoes is raising questions about the integrity of competition in athletics."
• Extreme weather kills 21 ultra-marathon runners in China - "Twenty one ultra-marathon runners have died after extreme weather conditions hit a 100-kilometer (62-mile) mountain race in northwest China."
• Figure Running - new sport that encourages you to get creative, go outside and discover new places while running and getting fit. The competition is not about your running speed or distance, it’s all about drawing.
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• Garmin Tracker - "Free mobile app that lets you see your location and your Garmin tracking device's location on a map, making it easy to track and locate it while you're on the go."
• Hellen Obiri is moving thousands of miles from her home in Kenya to pursue her marathon ambitions - "When Hellen Obiri moves 14,000 kilometers from Kenya to Colorado later this year, she already knows she'll miss some of the comforts of home. That includes Kenyan food and the country's staple of ugali - a dense porridge made from maize flour."
• HOW FITBIT STARTED THE WEARABLES CRAZE THAT GOT US ALL MOVING - "10,000 steps has become the standard metric by which we measure daily activity. But it was initially chosen because it sounded neat when you said it in Japanese."
• How long to warm up for a run - "They won’t necessarily save you from injury, but warm-up exercises can improve your performance, says a leading physiotherapist."
• How Running May or May Not Help the Heart - The New York Times.
• How to calibrate an Apple Watch for accurate fitness tracking - "If you're looking to get the most of your Apple Watch fitness tracking features, there's a way to calibrate it for step length and other factors. Here's how to do it."
• How to connect your Fitbit app to your Apple Watch - "Use the Strava app as a friendly intermediary."
• how to get in marathon shape - The Guardian.
• How to make your fitness tracker count steps more accurately - "Step trackers aren’t perfect, but here’s what you can do to get the best readings."
• How to run a marathon - and why London's is the world’s best - The Guardian.
• How to Set Goals You’ll Actually Achieve - "Whether you want to run a marathon, eat more healthfully or just get off the couch a little more, 'for the majority of people, setting a goal is one of the most useful behavior change mechanisms for enhancing performance,' says Frank Smoll, professor of psychology at the University of Washington. 'It’s highly individual,' he says - there’s no one way to achieve a goal. But these goal-setting strategies will help you stay the course."
• How to soothe sore, achy muscles after running a marathon - The Telegraph.
• How to use the Apple Watch Ultra’s Action button - "The Action button adds a third - and much-needed - physical control to Apple’s biggest and baddest watch. And it’s customizable to boot."
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• Hydro Flask - "A little more hydration lets you have a little more fun. From mountain trailheads to morning yoga practice, our 24 oz Standard Mouth bottle is just the right size for staying hydrated before, during, and after activity. Our largest Standard Mouth available uses TempShield double wall vacuum insulation to keep your water refreshingly ice cold for up to 24 hours."
• I was a marathon runner with killer biceps - long Covid has stopped me in my tracks - "Endurance athletes have been left using wheelchairs or barely able to walk. But the government acts like Covid is beaten."
• Inside Nike’s Quest for the Impossible: a Two-Hour Marathon - Wired.
• Is running the best exercise? - The Guardian.
• It’s Official: Study Confirms Faster Walkers Are Smarter - "Slow strollers, we send you our heartfelt condolences. New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has revealed that faster walkers are kind of smarter than slower walkers."
• Jacky Hunt-Broersma: The cancer survivor who ran 104 marathons in 104 days - "A woman who took up running after she lost her left leg to cancer has passed the Guinness World Record for most consecutive marathons."
• Joggers v walkers: the battle for our pathways during the coronavirus crisis "Relations are turning fractious as runners and pedestrians compete for dominance of the nation’s footpaths. Where will it all end?"
• Lululemon - since 1998. "Lululemon makes technical clothing for yoga, running, and most other sweaty pursuits."
• Man runs length of a marathon on his balcony - "A man ran the length of a marathon all from his balcony during France's coronavirus lockdown. Last week, Elisha Nochomovitz, a 32-year-old furloughed restaurant worker, ran the length of a marathon (26.2 miles) -- on his 23-foot long balcony."
• Man vs. Marathon - "One scientist’s quixotic quest to propel a runner past the two-hour barrier."
• MARATHON - Wikipedia.
• Marathon Grand Slam Club
• MARATHON PHOTOS
• Marathons are bad for your health - The Telegraph.
• My pandemic epiphany: running a half marathon alone was incredible - "With forty-four loved ones on the phone, Caitlin Curran realized she didn’t need the crowd for this race to be special."
• Naruto Running - refers to the unique running style of the protagonist Naruto Uzumaki in the Japanese anime series Naruto, where he is often depicted sprinting with his arms stretched behind him.
• Nike stirs the pot with ‘gamechanger’ running shoe in step with new rules - "Just days after World Athletics belatedly introduced regulations to limit running shoe technology, Nike has courted further controversy with one that slips inside the rules and then hailing it as another 'gamechanger'."
• PREP FOR YOUR TOUGHEST RACES LIKE A MASTER MARATHONER - Wired.
• psychology of running a marathon - "How to overcome hitting 'the wall'."
• Q. & A.: How to Fuel Your Runs - "What's the real benefit in refueling soon after a run? Can eating mid-run help speed recovery? Your nutrition questions, answered."
• Quest for the Impossible: a Two-Hour Marathon - Wired.
• RUNNER'S WORLD
• Running 104 marathons in 104 days - "'It showed me how strong our bodies can be,' says amputee athlete Jacky Hunt-Broersma after running 104 marathons in 104 days."
• Running After a Heart Attack - The New York Times.
• Running marathon cuts years off 'artery age' - "Training for and completing a marathon improves the health of a new runner's arteries, cutting about four years off their 'vascular age', a study suggests."
• Running May Be Socially Contagious - The New York Times.
• Seven Continents Marathon Club
• Strava - "Connecting the world's athletes. Run and Cycling Tracking on the Social Network for Athletes." If you're active, Strava was made for you. Our mobile app and website enhance the experience of sport and connect millions of athletes from around the world. We're the social network for those who strive. Join us.
• The deadly perils of China's booming marathon industry - "62 miles of pain, 21 killed in freezing rain: How China's deadliest marathon event in recent history exposed lax regulation and weak government oversight."
• the phenomenal rise of the ultramarathon - The Guardian.
• The secrets of endurance athletes - "Running a distance race - like a 246km ultramarathon - takes extraordinary physical fitness. But however hard they have trained, an athlete’s success hinges on their mental endurance."
• UK man runs marathon in every country in the world - "If you've ever wondered who runs the world, it turns out it's a man called Nick Butter."
• ULTRAMARATHON - Wikipedia.
• Vaporfly shoes will help me reach my marathon dream. Should I use them? - "After years of trying to beat the three-hour barrier, new technology could get me there. Or is that cheating?"
• Walkathon - type of community or school fundraiser in which participants raise money by collecting donations or pledges for walking a predetermined distance or course. They are similar in format to other physical activity based fundraising events such as marathons and cycling races, but are usually non-competitive and lower intensity. The low intensity model is ideal for mobilizing broad-based community support, and as a result Walkathons usually target participants from a wide range of ages and economic backgrounds.
• Walking can lower risk of early death, but there’s more to it than number of steps, study finds - "Put on your walking shoes and don’t forget your step counter: You can reduce your risk for cancer, heart disease and early death by getting up to 10,000 steps a day, but any amount of walking helps, according to a new study. Health benefits rose with every step, the study found, but peaked at 10,000 steps - after that the effects faded. Counting steps may be especially important for people who do unstructured, unplanned physical activity such as house work, gardening and dog walks."
• Watch Why It's Almost Impossible to Run 100 Meters In 9 Seconds - Wired.
• What does running do to your brain? - The Guardian.
• What I Wish I’d Known About My Knees - The New York Times.
• What is the healthiest way to walk? We ask an expert - "Annabel Streets, author of 52 Ways to Walk, on how to get the most out of walking – for both your mental and physical health."
• What we write about when we write about running - The Guardian.
• WHEN YOUR ACTIVITY TRACKER BECOMES A PERSONAL MEDICAL DEVICE - Wired.
• Why are middle-aged marathon runners faster than twentysomethings? - "According to new data from the running app Strava, runners in their 40s are streets ahead of younger rivals."
• Why couples should never go running together - The Guardian.
• Why do people run marathons? - "Ahead of the London marathon this weekend, Anne McCarthy explores what motivates people to take up endurance running."
• Why don’t Kenyans run ultramarathons? - The Guardian.
• Why It's Almost Impossible to Run a Two-Hour Marathon - Wired.
• Why Running May Be Good for Your Back - The New York Times.
• Your pre-marathon checklist - The New York Times.

Marathons & Events

• LIST OF MARATHONS - Wikipedia.
• World Marathon Majors - also known as the Big Six, is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. It comprises six annual races (five 2006–2011, four 2012) for the cities of Tokyo (starting in 2013), Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City (2006–11, 2013–), a biennial race, the IAAF World Championships Marathon, and a quadrennial race, the Olympic Games Marathon. Each WMM series spans two calendar years; the second year of a series overlaps with the first year of the next.

Top 10 Marathon Events

• BERLIN MARATHON - since 1974.
• BOSTON MARATHON - since 1897. The world's oldest annual marathon, and ranks as one of the world's best-known road racing events. It is one of six World Marathon Majors.
• CHICAGO MARATHON - since 1977.
• COPENHAGEN MARATHON - since 1980.
• HONG KONG MARATHON - since 1997.
• LONDON MARATHON - since 1981.
• MARATHON DES SABLES | Sahara Marathon - since 1986.
• NEW YORK CITY MARATHON - since 1970. Annual marathon (42.195 km or 26.219 mi) that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 50,304 finishers in 2013. Along with the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon, it is among the pre-eminent long-distance annual running events in the United States and is one of the World Marathon Majors.
• NORTH POLE MARATHON - since 2002.
• The Barkley Marathons: the hellish 100-mile race with 15 finishers in 36 years - "Participants in the Tennessee race must negotiate extreme temperatures, wild terrain and more than 50,000 feet of accumulated ascent."
• THE GREAT WALL MARATHON - since 1999.
• TOKYO MARATHON - since 2007. Annual marathon sporting event in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. It is an IAAF Gold Label marathon and one of the six World Marathon Majors.

Running Equipment

• 8 best fitness trackers of 2017 - The Telegraph.
• ADIDAS - men's & women's running shoes.
• All The Gear You Need For Trail Running - Wired.
• Apple Watch just took a massive step towards being my favorite running watch - "Finally, the battle with Spotify is over."
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• Apple Watch Ultra - since 2022. "Rugged and capable, with precision dual-frequency GPS, up to 36-hour battery life, and three bands for athletes of all kinds." Meet the most rugged and capable Apple Watch ever. With a robust titanium case, precision dual-frequency GPS, up to 36 hours of battery life the freedom of cellular and three specialized bands made for athletes and adventurers of all kinds. Features a new rugged 49mm Titanium case.
• best fitness trackers you can buy - "Smartwatches aren't your only options."
• Casio announces a cheaper version of its Wear OS watch for hikers - The Verge.
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• Casio ProTrek PRG-240T-7ER
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• District Vision - "Running Sunglasses Made in Japan." Men's & women's.
• ECCO - "It is ECCO's vision to be the most wanted brand within innovation and comfort footwear."
• ENDOMONDO - sports community based on free real-time GPS tracking of running, cycling, etc. Bring your mobile on the track and get a complete training log!
• FITBIT FLEX - "Make fitness a lifestyle with Flex." Wireless activity & sleep wristband. "This slim, stylish device is with you all the time. During the day, it tracks steps, distance, and calories burned. At night, it tracks your sleep cycle and wakes you silently in the morning."
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• Garmin - all running watches.
• Garmin Forerunner 245 Music review: a runner’s best friend - "Practically every running stat, great battery life, offline Spotify and comprehensive health-tracking in a small and light sports watch."
• Garmin forerunner 945 - "We made this watch for you - the up-at-dawn runners and the conditioned-for-pain triathletes. While you chase your next victory, make sure you’ve got the right tool for the job."
• Inside Fitbit’s Quest to Make Fitness Trackers Invisible - Wired.
• Jaybird Run review - "The perfect truly wireless earbuds for workouts."
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• LEIKR - Danish GPS sports watch features a two-inch color display to read your pace, speed, heart rate, distance, calories consumption and elapsed time. A device that monitors your performance, guides you through your route as well as through your workout.
• MIZUNO
• NIKE+
• NIKE RUNNING
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• Omron Walking style III - "Do more with a simple step counter." Slim and lightweight, you can take it with you anywhere to improve your walking skills. An easy way to monitor your health. Features: calories burned, fat burned, intensity of your walking mode, records how far you have gone, 2D sensor, daily steps, memory, and a 24 hour digital clock is included.
• ON - "Running re-invented."
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• PEBBLE WATCH - "E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android." E-paper smart watch design that connects to your iPhone or Android-powered smart phone. It can be customized to the nth degree, with different watch faces and apps that are downloaded to the watch. It alerts you to incoming calls, texts and emails, you can play your music from it, and you can even access the GPS on your phone to get information like distance and pace when cycling or running.

• POLAR ELECTRO - "Listens To Your Body." Manufacturer of advanced sports training computers, heart rate monitoring equipment & sports GPS watches since 1977.
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• Polar RC3 GPS Tour de France - "Essential features in one compact package."
• POLAR RS800CX - "The most accurate way to measure your speed and distance as well as plan, monitor and analyze your body's response to your training sessions."
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• SUUNTO - sports precision instruments for diving, training, mountaineering, hiking, skiing and sailing. All models.
• TEVA - sports shoes.
• THE BEST WIRELESS HEADPHONES FOR RUNNING - The Verge.
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• Timex - "Ironman Watch Collection | Sport and Fitness Watchess." All models.
• TOP CHOICES FOR TRAIL RUNNING SHOES - Wired.
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• Vasque - men's trail running shoes.