Market Basket puts the marathon distance in helpful context

Attention shoppers! 26.2 miles is only 138,336 Market Basket floor tiles.

A Market Basket store on Northwest Boulevard in Nashua. Jim Davis / Globe Staff

April 15, 2024

1 minute to read

For those of us who have never completed a marathon, the thought of moving (let alone running) 26.2 miles can feel incomprehensible.

Luckily, a favorite New England grocery store put the distance into more familiar terms Monday morning.

Good luck, Boston Marathon runners! Market Basket is rooting for you.

26.2 miles is only 138,336 MB floor tiles – YOU GOT THIS! pic.twitter.com/NhgWuU6bGR
— Market Basket (@MarketBasket) April 15, 2024

“26.2 miles is only 138,336 MB floor tiles,” Market Basket posted on X.

The salmon-colored vinyl floor tiles, an iconic element of the nostalgic grocery chain, measure exactly one square foot in area. And while you may think you’ve paced every inch of your local Market Basket — think again.

At the flagship store in Chelsea — which measures 136,000 square feet — there still aren’t enough tiles to total a marathon. So yeah, a marathon is really long. Even longer than all the tiles in the state’s biggest Market Basket.