Runningmonkeys

A marathon is run over 42.2 kilometres or 26 miles.  That distance is firmly entrenched in running culture as a mark of a specific type of run.  It is recognisable in much the same way as a 100m sprint.  A hundred metre sprint is never anything but 100m and a marathon is never anything but 42.2 k’s or 26 miles.

However, this is not how the Japanese use the term.  When I mention a recent marathon to a Japanese person they will usually ask how long it was.  At first, I was amazed that so many people had no idea that a marathon could only be one distance.  That was, until I discovered that my idea of a marathon wasn’t the same as their idea of a marathon.

In Japanese, the word Marathon has become synonymous with the idea of long run.  It has no distinct definition of length and so presumably it is possible to go for a 5 kilometre “Marathon” if you personally consider this to be a long distance.  If you want to specifically refer to a race held over a course that measures 42.2 k’s then in Japanese it is called a “Furu Marathon” (Full marathon).  

I assume that this all came about as a result of doubling the popular distance that we call the half marathon, but it still seems so awkward.  I consider myself to be a “Marathoner” and don’t identify at all with the term “Full-Marathoner”.  My other concern is that it weakens the definition and could end up in the ridiculous situation that triathlon is in.

The vast majority of people, have no idea about the length or proportion of triathlons as a whole.  Some will call a “Sprint” triathlon an Ironman event.  Some will use the term Half Ironman for an event that others would call a Long Course.  The Olympic distance category has gone some distance to standardizing things, but for the vast majority of people, the various distances are still meaningless.

In Australia, most people seem to realize that the word Marathon refers to a specific event over a specific distance.  They may not remember the defining distance (but that is no surprise as most Australians including myself struggle to remember their age), but they understand that a specific distance does exist.

Am I making a point out of nothing?  Maybe

Is this article likely to change anything in Japan?  Hardly

Had I better get on with my life and keep on running? Definitely