To answer the author's remark about the name, while it's true that marathons are long, paced races, the term Hackathon probably comes from Dance-a-thon which is

To answer the author's remark about the name, while it's true that marathons are long, paced races, the term Hackathon probably comes from Dance-a-thon which is an overnight dance party to see who's still standing in the morning. See also music marathon, movie marathon, telethon.