“Life is a marathon, not a sprint”
The marathon long-distance running event was introduced to the modern Oluympic events in 1896. The saying that something (life or marriage or business success or winning a war or running for president) is “a marathon, not a sprint” has been cited in print since at least 1908.
Wikipedia: Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), that is usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon (the namesake of the race) to Athens.
The marathon was one of the original modern Olympic events in 1896, though the distance did not become standardized until 1921. More than 500 marathons are contested throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes. Larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.
Google Books
September 1908, Life Insurance Independent, “What Endurance Does,” pg. 197, col. 2:
Selling insurance is not a sprint. It is a Marathon. The prize goes to the fellow who endures.
13 April 1913, The State (Columbia, SC), pt. 1, pg. 9:
FATAL TO POSTPONE
SUBSCRIPTION GETTING
Contest is a Marathon in Which Stay-
ing Power Count.
(...)
A contest is a Marathon and not a sprint.
Google Books
February 1917, American Magazine, “When Success Hung in the Balance,” pg. 25, col. 1:
I discovered that life is not a sprint but a marathon, that the best prizes come only to those who combine with their ability a power to keep everlastingly at it.
Google Books
Touchstones of Success
Philadelphia, PA: The Vir Pub. Co.
1920
Pg. 120:
Business success is not a sprint but a Marathon.
14 February 1922, Oregonian (Portland, OR), “United in Purpose, Rivals in Trade,” pg. 8:
Their several forces should be put in training as for a race, but for a Marathon, not a sprint.
Google Books
Windows on Life
By Carl Heath Kopf
New York, NY: The Macmillan Company
1941
Pg. 169:
Marriage is meant to be a marathon, not a sprint.
29 November 1941, New Orleans (LA) Times-Picayune, “Highlights in Radio,” pg. 16, col. 1:
Talk—Dr. Alfred Grant Walton, speaker on the “Call to Youth” broadcast from NBC-WSMB at 11:30 a. m., will present a talk titled “Not a Sprint But a Marathon.”
28 August 1943, New Orleans (LA) TImes-Picayune, pg. 6, col. 1:
FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY the Foreign Policy Association said Far Eastern hostilities would be indefinitely prolonged unless Western powers, particularly the United States, discontinued furnishing war supplies to Japan. Hitler was toying with the idea that Czecho-Slovakia could be attacked and crushed with such speed that France, Britain, and Russia could do nothing about it. France and Britain thought the “race” would be not a sprint, but a marathon.
11 March 1951, New York (NY) Times, pg. 143:
U. S. IS NOW RUNNING A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT
Plans to Win This Race Are to Be Made
Fora Very Long Time Ahead
By JAMES RESTON
WASHINGTON, March 10—The basic problem in Washington today is how to turn Uncle Sam, a good sprinter, into a marathon runner. For a guy with long shanks and knobby knees, old Mr.Whiskers can spurt faster than any bear this side of Vladivostok, but can he stay the course?
16 December 1951, New Orleans (LA) Times-Picayune, sec. 3, pg. 8, col. 6:
The cold war may be a marathon, not a sprint.
OCLC WorldCat record
U.S. participation in IFOR : a marathon, not a sprint
Author: William T Johnsen; War College (Carlisle Barracks). Strategic Studies Institute.
Publisher: Carlisle Barracks PA : U.S. Army War College, 1996.
Series: Strategic Studies Institute monographs
Edition/Format: Book : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Mentoring- a marathon not a sprint
Edition/Format: Article : English
Publication: CRIME PREVENTION NEWS, (April/June 1999): 10-11
Database: British Library Serials
OCLC WorldCat record
It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint: Managing Your Technical Writing Career
Author: M Harvey
Edition/Format: Article : English
Publication: ANNUAL CONFERENCE- SOCIETY FOR TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION, 50, (2003): 105-106
Database: British Library Serials
OCLC WorldCat record
An Irishman’s diet : a marathon not a sprint
Author: Paul O’Doherty
Publisher: Dublin : Liberties, 2007.
Edition/Format: Book : English
Politico.com
October 30, 2011
Categories:2012 Presidential Race
Perry: ‘It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon.’
Rick Perry downplayed his poor, fifth-place showing in Sunday’s Des Moines Register poll.
(...)
“Obviously this race isn’t settled at all,” he said on “Fox News Sunday,” noting that most voters are just now tuning in and that many don’t know about Mitt Romney’s record. “I feel pretty comfortable where we’ll be on Election Day.”
(...)
Asked by Fox host Chris Wallace what he has learned, as he has slipped from the top of the polls toward the back of the pack, Perry said: “The thing that I’ve learned is that you pace yourself.”
“It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon,” he said.
Forbes
11/07/2011 @ 8:43AM
Why Investing is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Yesterday’s New York City Marathon strikes us as a nice metaphor for investing. Successful long-term investors are like marathoners in that they must be well prepared, resilient, disciplined and focused in order to complete the race. Sprinting, like short-term investing, is really a different sport.
Christian Post
Fri, Nov. 11 2011 02:52 PM EDT
Gabrielle Giffords’ First TV Interview: Says Recovery Is ‘Difficult’
By Paul Stanley
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who has been recovering for almost 10 months, is now able to talk about her ordeal – at least the parts she recalls – with hopes of possibly continuing to represent her Arizona district in the nation’s capital.
Giffords was shot point-blank at a Tucson supermarket as she debated the nation’s health care law with high-spirited constituents.
(...)
Sitting by her husband, Mark Kelly, who retired as a NASA astronaut soon after commanding his final space mission, it’s evident the couple has fought through the more difficult parts of her recovery – one that few survive. Yet the couple sees Gabrielle’s recovery as a marathon and not a sprint.