People seem to think that runners are under the impression, or take the position, that a marathon is an impossibility that only the few select can even hope to accomplish, and that is why we revere the top finishers at Boston, NYC, etc..
This is just not the case. You would think that 40 years of mass marathoning would have driven the point home that any reasonably health person can finish 26 miles on foot if given enough time, usually that time is about 4-4.5 hours.
It's doing it WELL that matters.