If you're Googling "how long is a marathon?" chances are you're inspired by marathon season

First up is the London Marathon, which takes place on Sunday, October 3 For those of you who have been buoyed by marathon fever, here's everything you need to know about this distance

The marathon is 262 miles (about 4219 km)

There is a reason for the very specific distance; it was not set until the 20th century The modern marathon was inspired by a legend that in 490 BC an ancient Greek messenger ran from Marathon to Athens (a distance of about 25 miles) carrying news of a Greek victory over the Persian army After completing his run, he collapsed and died To commemorate this achievement, the marathon distance for the 1896 Olympics was set at 40 kilometers

However, at the 1908 Olympics in London, the course was extended This was reportedly because Queen Alexandra wanted the race to start on the lawn of Windsor Castle so that younger members of the British royal family could watch the runners

The race finished in front of the Royal Box at the Olympic Stadium, which was 262 miles away

According to data from a study of race results from over 70,000 events from 1986 to 2018, the average marathon finish time for US runners was 4 hours and 42 minutes The average marathon finish time for men in the US is 4 hours 31 minutes, while the average marathon finish time for women is 4 hours 57 minutes

The men's world record for the marathon distance is 2 hours 1 minute 39 seconds, set by Eliud Kipchoge at the 2018 Berlin Marathon The women's marathon world record is 2 hours 14 minutes 04 seconds, set by Brigitte Kosgei at the 2019 Chicago Marathon

If you were to walk 262 miles, it would take 6 to 9 hours If he walked faster, he would probably finish in 6-7 hours, but at his natural walking pace, it would take longer

The half marathon is 131 miles (about 2109 km)

According to the same data collected by RunRepeat, for US runners, the average finish time for a half marathon is 2 hours and 10 minutes Digging deeper, the average male runner in the US runs a half marathon in 2 hours and 2 minutes, while the average female runner finishes in 2 hours and 16 minutes

The male world record for the half marathon distance is 57:32 set by Kibiwot Kandi in the half marathon held as part of the Valencia Marathon in 2020 The women's world record for the half marathon distance is 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 31 seconds, set by Ababel Ishane at the 2020 Las Alhaimas Half Marathon

The 10 km is 10 kilometers, or 621 miles

The average finish time for 10 km in the US is 1 hour and 1 minute The men's average time is slightly faster at 58 minutes and the women's slightly slower at 1 hour 6 minutes; the world records for the 10 km are Joshua Cheptegei's 26:11 for the men and Almaz Ayana's 29:17 for the women

The 5k is 5 km, 31 miles

The average 5k time for American runners is 39 minutes The men's average is a faster 35 minutes and the women's average is slower at 41 minutes; the world records for the 5k are Joshua Cheptegei's 12:35:36 for the men and Lotesenbet Gidey's 14:06:62 for the women