Editing Long-distance running (section)

====Road running====
[[File:Yokohama Womens Marathon 2009.jpg|thumb|Women runners on a closed-off-road at the 2009 [[Yokohama Marathon]].]]
{{main|Road running|Marathon}}
{{See also|List of World Athletics Label marathon races}}

Long-distance road running competitions are mainly conducted on courses of [[Road surface|paved]] or [[Asphalt concrete|tarmac]] roads, although major events often finish on the track of a main stadium. In addition to being a common [[recreational sport]], the elite level of the sport – particularly [[marathon race]]s – is one of the most popular aspects of athletics. Road racing events can be of virtually any distance, but the most common and well-known is the marathon, [[half marathon]], and [[10 km run]].

The sport of road running finds its roots in the activities of [[footmen]]: male servants who ran alongside the carriages of [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocrats]] around the 18th century, and who also ran errands over distances for their masters. [[Foot racing]] competitions evolved from [[Gambling|wagers]] between aristocrats, who pitted their footman against that of another aristocrat in order to determine a winner. The sport became [[Professional sports|professionalised]] as footmen were hired specifically on their athletic ability and began to devote their lives to training for gambling events. The amateur sports movement in the late 19th century marginalised competitions based on the professional, gambling model. The [[1896 Summer Olympics]] saw the birth of the modern marathon and the event led to the growth of road running competitions through annual public events such as the Boston Marathon (first held in 1897) and the [[Lake Biwa Marathon]] and [[Fukuoka Marathon]]s, which were established in the 1940s. The [[Running boom|1970s running boom]] in the United States made road running a common [[pastime]] and also increased its popularity at the elite level.<ref>[http://www.iaaf.org/community/athletics/roadrunning/index.html Road running – Introduction] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023092528/http://iaaf.org/community/athletics/roadrunning/index.html |date=23 October 2012 }}. [[IAAF]]. Retrieved 27 May 2010.</ref>

The marathon is the only road running event featured at the [[World Athletics Championships]] and the [[Summer Olympics]], although there is also the [[World Athletics Half Marathon Championships]] held every two years. The marathon is also the only road running event featured at the [[World Para Athletics Championships]] and the [[Summer Paralympics]]. The [[World Marathon Majors]] series includes the six most prestigious marathon competitions at the elite level – the [[Berlin Marathon|Berlin]], [[Boston Marathon|Boston]], [[Chicago Marathon|Chicago]], [[London Marathon|London]], [[Tokyo Marathon|Tokyo]], and [[New York City Marathon|New York City]] marathons. The Tokyo Marathon was most recently added to the World Marathon Majors in 2012.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Belson |first=Ken |date=2 November 2012 |title=Tokyo Will Be Added as Sixth Major Marathon |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/sports/tokyo-will-be-added-as-sixth-major-marathon.html |access-date=1 March 2017}}</ref>

[[Ekiden]] contests – which originated in Japan and remain common there – are a relay race variation on the marathon, in contrast to the typically individual sport of road running.