Marathon was run, it either had to be done under “Marathon” branding , control, management etc, or called a 26.2 mile race?
I will say that what the Iron Cowboy did wasn’t a true Ironman as the bike allowed drafting. But to me thats more similar to different marathon venues where the race is mostly downhill (St George?) vs a flat or even some uphill course. Theyre all still marathons.