In reality, a world-record winner receives exactly the same reward as every finisher - the satisfying sense of having succeeded against the odds, the knowledge of having proved inner strength, and the closure of having completed a quest. The individual nature of running makes the fulfillment it gives profoundly personal. The great thing about gaining self-esteem from finishing a marathon is that every runner knows it's not just vanity or self-importance - they really did it, the hard way, and they have the medal to prove it.