response: Not sure about the spectators but there are over 800 marathons run around the world each year
history: I have been running for 1.5 years to work my way up to a marathon.  Its taking a while! Very interesting. Do you think you can run the total Marathon distance of 26.219 miles? Sure, but I'm not there yet. I can go about 12 miles. I wonder if a marathon has ever been shorter when they were first started. The distance did not become standardized until 1921 for the marathon Wow, how in the world did they keep track of the runner?  Now we have tv cameras following them all and updates. Some people must have cheated. In 1896 the marathon was one of the original modern olympic events Were there many spectators at the original olympics? I think that a marathon is definitely Olympic worthy!
knowledge: More than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.