Marathon has short rhizomes that spread, creating a dense sod. It has greater winterhardiness and is more resistant to foliar disease than other cool-season grasses. Use Marathon for hay, silage or pasture. When cut for hay or silage, quality is optimal before seed heads appear and then rapidly declines. Forage yields are excellent in the spring and early summer and are fair to good in late summer and early fall. When used as pasture, grazing Marathon down to 3 to 4 inches above the ground will make the best utilization of the forage. Allow the grass to recover before regrazing, always keeping the grass below 12 inches tall during rapid spring growth.