Have you ever wondered what happened to the Marathon caramel chocolate bar?
The Mars Candy Company introduced it in 1973 and it was a full eight inches of braided caramel covered in milk chocolate. It was marketed as “the candy bar you can’t eat quickly” in commercials by some kind of a cowboy guy. The Marathon Bar came in a bright red wrapper that made it stand out from the other candy bars. There was actually a ruler on the wrapper that showed how long it really was.
Curly Wurly Bar
Mars discontinued the Marathon Bar in 1981, to the dismay of many Marathon Bar lovers and the staff at Bulk Candy Store.
Then, to the delight of Marathon addicts, the Cadbury Candy Company – one of the largest candy makers in the world BTW – introduced the Curly Wurly Bar. Resembling a Marathon Bar the Curly Wurly Bar was a perfect replacement for the original classic.
Curly Wurlys are imported from the UK and the same size as the original Marathon Bars (1″ x 8″ of braided caramel covered with milk chocolate). Also known as the bendy, stretchy candy bar, theses tasty treats are only 115 calories per serving!
GOOD NEWS!
Curly Wurly’s are BACK and you can find them HERE!
54 replies on “Long Lost Candies: The Marathon Bar”
I love the older candy bars from the seventy’s! M& Ms need to bring these back….you know a Blast from the Past! This would be an awesome thing.
You are right. CHOC O LITE,Marathon John. Look up a candy store in West allis Wisconsin its called
Half Nuts. They have Tons of old time candy,its a riot
When I was a kid in the 70’s, I remember that my brother ate a Marathon bar, but daring that he was, he stuffed the entire bar in his mouth at once. It became a huge, sticky ball of goo that prevented him from chewing it!
I did that all the time I’d roll it up
I have been wondering were had the marathon candy bar had gone. Every time i visit a different city i look to see if they sale them, but not to my surprise they don’t. Mars need to bring back the MARATHON BAR!
Definitely need to bring this bar back. I think it would do fantastic today!! These were delicious.
Please, Please bring the Marathon candy back!!! It was my favorite, best candy ever!!!
I’ve seen them sold only at Cracker Barrel.
I remember my Dad always ate them. Lots of memories of my Dad. I wish they would bring the candy bars back.
I would love to bring his childhood favorites back on the Shelves so my kids can have the same experience I did as a child
Please bring the candy bar back.
I’ve seen the sold only at Cracker Barrel
Great to see a mention of the Marathon bar! I was beginning to think I was the only one who remembered it. I really liked it and was sorry to see it disappear. Wish Mars would bring it back.
We’re glad you enjoyed the post Monty! The Marathon Bar was really popular, We couldn’t forget about it.
Add me to this list! Bring back the Marathon!!
Why did they end it? I thought that cowboy said it was suppose to last “… a good, long, time”.
I purchased the curly wurly a couple years ago. I was very happy that I could get my all time favorite candy bar……..but it most certainly was not anywhere near the good flavor of the marathon bar. I thought was terrible. Wont ever buy them again. Yuk!!
Our tastes change over the years. Had a curly wurly last night, pretty good
Mars bring the MARATHON bar back!!!
My husband and I loved the Marathon candy bar. We found that it went particularly well with an ice cold Heineken. Those were the days!
Please bring back the Marathon bars!!!
There was no better candy for pulling out loose teeth. It was a great investment of a shiny quarter. Here’s a commercial from 1973: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XDaQUd6Qv4
Marathon was my FAVORITE candy bar as a kid!! Awesomeness!! Please bring it back!!
The Marathon was my favorite candy as a child…wondered for many years why it was discontinued! Mars company would make lots of money bringing the marathon candy back!
The best s’mores my friend & I made was when we improvised with what we had available. We used saltine crackers, marshmallows and pieces of a Marathon bar. It was the best! I would love to see the Marathon bar again.
Bring back the Marathon Bar PLEASE!!!!
I have looked all over for the Marathon bar in different places. It was my FAVORITE ! If they brought them back I would buy them by the cases ! PLEASE BRING THEM BACK !
I remembered the wrapper with the ruler on it and the twisted up chocolate and caramel. But for the life of me couldn’t remember the name of the candy bar, it was making me a little bit crazy. It was a marathon bar. I would love to have one today
The MARATHON was a favorite of mine. Tried the Curly Wurly, but it wasn’t even close in flavor. I’d LOVE to see the MARATHON brought back some day. Fingers crossed.
Bring back the marathon bar I use to freeze them and then eat it!! My all time favorite candy bar!! I miss them..
In the TV commercials the “cowboy guy” was a character named Marathon John, and he went up against villains with names like Quick Carl. Such fun! I really loved those big honkin’ Marathon Bars, and not just because they took 20 minutes to eat. They were great. This and the Willy Wonka Skrunch Bars were two of my favorites, now just “sweet” memories. 😉
I once had a friend who bet me that he could fit a whole Marathon bar in his mouth. He won the bet… But, it took him over 30 minutes of chewing to get the whole candy bar swallowed which left his jaw so sore that he didn’t want to speak for hours… Love it..! I wish they would bring the Marathon bar back…!! As a teacher, I’d hand them out so things could remain quiet.
I didn’t remember what the name of this candy bar was (I was born in 1973). And no one knew what I was talking about when I remembered it years later. I was asking if anyone remembered a big, braided candy bar. Literally no one knew what I was talking about.!
Happy to help 🙂
Awww!!! Please bring back the
MARATHON Candy bar!!
I know you Executives can figure a way to do it!!
Thank You!!!
Pleezee
Bring back the
MARATHON
Candy bar!!!!
And can it be 15 cents
Like it was when I was a kid?
Used to freeze them. They were thin and were easy to break into pieces and chew.
[…] Marathon Bar If you are so inclined, you can read the description provided by the post I linked to at Bulk Candy Store, but to save time I’ll just tell you that these were simply the best. And it’s a shame they are no longer made. […]
[…] Long Lost Candies: The Marathon Bar – Bulk Candy Store […]
Didn’t it come in 2 sizes?? Loved these as a kid!!!
Mars, please, please, please bring back the original Mars bar and the marathon bar. Curly curly is NOT as good. And the European Mars bar doesn’t have whole almonds
I would KILL for a Marathon bar tonight!!!
I have traveled our country for nearly 25 years. I stopped at EVERY Cracker Barrel looking for my fave candy bar….Marathon. I have not found one anywhere!!!
Mars…please bring a childhood favorite back.
Amazon sells CurlyWurly bars from the UK which are the same thing as Marathon bar, only slightly smaller.
I would like to know what happened to the Butternut candy bar and where I may purchase some?
I would like to know what happened to the Butter nut candy bar and where I may purchase some if still distributed?
I don’t remember much about the candy bar, but I definitely remember the commercial: the cowboy guy was none other than Patrick Wayne, son of John Wayne.
That “Cowboy guy” that shilled the Marathon bar was John Wayne’s son, Patrick Wayne.
I used to freeze them up and snap it in pieces…
Gota get them back!!!
I lived in Archbold Ohio from 1975 thru 1979 and I remember the marathon bar. Such fond memories. I remember the delicious taste of it. That was over 40 years ago but o remember how happy I felt those years when I was 4 thru 7.
I would freeze it and then smack it on the counter to break it into small pieces! These were the beast and they need to bring them back.
Hi, all Chocoholics, I have a Marathon wrapper from the 70s, along with my other #3125 candy bar wrappers that I’ve been collecting since Jr. High (1970s). I have them in 23 photo albums in two categories; American & Foreign wrappers. It is a crazy hobby that probably isn’t ‘worth’ much except for the great memories and future wrapper’s that come down the pike. The oldest one I have is a MARS BAR for .05.
Does anyone else out there collect them?
[…] Every time we walked to the corner store, I’d choose chocolate covered caramel (remember Marathon bars?). The day before I got braces, I ate an entire bag of caramels. It definitely hits a […]
The public swimming pool in the town I grew up in, (Gibson City, Illinois) sold them at their concession stand for 15 cents plus a one cent tax. If you bought one frozen, the price went up a cent.
I would love to see PB Max return. I never had a marathon bar. I wasnt born yet when it came out. Sounds yummy