Marathon: noun. 1. a race in which people run on roads over a distance of 42 kilometres or about 26 miles; 2. an activity that takes a long time to complete and needs a lot of energy and determination. (MacMillan Dictionary definition)
With the growing popularity of running as a sport in the country, more races are being held every weekend, more celebrities are joining them, and of course more media attention is given. This is a good thing since more people will start taking it up.
Of course, when we take up anything new, we ought to find out as much as we need to know about it, especially the terms commonly used so that we can understand each other. For instance, people unfamiliar with the term “PR” would be hard-pressed to define what it is; runners who’ve done a few races will talk about beating their PR’s. (FYI, it means “personal record” or “personal best time”.)
There was a recent race covered by a television network where their homegrown celebrities participated. The reporter referred to the celebrities’s race distances as “3K marathon”, “5K marathon”, “10K marathon”, and “21K marathon”. Had the reporter taken the time to understand the word she was using, she would have realized the strangeness of what she was saying.
While some races do offer a marathon distance (42.195 kilometers, or 26.2 miles) alongside shorter distances, 3K, 5K, 10K and 21K are shorter events and cannot be called “marathons”. Similarly, some race organizers have taken to calling their events “marathons” despite not offering a 42K distance.
Though the dictionary meaning of “marathon” has a secondary usage when describing something that takes considerable time or effort, in its primary usage of describing a race, it should only be used to describe a race 42 kilometers long. (Check out more info in Wikipedia’s entry for “marathon”.)
As this sport becomes more mainstream, we ought to promote correct knowledge about it. As they say, “the more you know…” the better. In short, marathons are races, but not all races are marathons. “Marathon” is not a synonym for “race.”
here we go! flame thrower.. enraged na? LOL
Wesley, this is not meant to provoke argument, but simply to inform. 🙂
“As this sport becomes more mainstream, we ought to promote correct knowledge about it.” i thought everything was clear when you closed your blog with this.
Imagine if you replaced “marathon” with “triathlon” hehehe i.e. “We’re running a 3K triathlon” – that would be stranger … 😛
Very well written, Noelle…
right on the nail’s head! good job kikayrunner
well said kikayrunner, or should i say, well written. i hope that everyone who reads this take this seriously. let us spread the word. i will share this on my profile.
i admit doing this mistake. i was asked on stage why i decided to join kotr (last year) and sabi ko ever since gusto ko nang sumali ng marathon. eh 5k lang sinalihan ko so kinorek ako. sabi ko na lang, 5k is just my starting point for a marathon in the future. hehehe.
some people are just ignorant of the correct terminology, i don’t we don’t fault them for it.
“i don’t think we should fault them for that”
hi Taty, in case I didn’t make it clear in my blog post, I was criticizing the media and race organizers for their misuse of the word “marathon”. The television media is a major source of information for most Filipinos, and as such should be better informed and not careless about it. Race organizers should also know better.
I don’t fault recreational runners for being unaware of the proper use of the term. But I do think I’m in my right to write an informative blog post such as this. 🙂
Ah, Pheidippides and his death march. What an honourable way to die!
I watched 21 episodes of “Friends” last night. Can I already consider that as a DVD marathon or would I be committing a sin against MacMillan? 😀
Let me also add that using the correct term is also a way of paying respect for those who run a marathon. 42k is not a joke and should be taken seriously since a lot of time, energy and effort are being invested for training in preparation for this event.
The shirt.. Dinistribute pa rin ba?
tama lang yan . kailangan ipaliwag sa lahat.