Mr. Phillip Walford reports

MARATHON HITS 3.43 G/T AU OVER 50 METERS, 2.57 G/T AU OVER 50 METERS AND 1.53 G/T AU OVER 73 METERS, VALENTINE LAKE GOLD CAMP

Marathon Gold Corp. has made continued success in intersecting wide intervals of excellent-grade gold in the first two drill holes from the 2017 drilling campaign at the Marathon deposit, Valentine Lake gold camp. Best intercepts include 3.43 grams per tonne gold (uncut) over 50.0 metres with 15.36 g/t Au (uncut) over seven metres, 2.57 g/t Au over 50.0 metres with 6.10 g/t Au over 12.0 metres, and 7.49 g/t Au (uncut) over 13.0 metres with 29.07 g/t Au (uncut) over three metres in MA-17-159; and 1.53 g/t Au over 73.0 metres with 6.42 g/t Au over seven metres and 3.50 g/t Au over six metres in MA-17-158.

The 50-to-100-metre-wide subvertical mineralized corridor of the Marathon deposit has a current well-defined strike length of over 550 metres, extends to depth for more than 400 metres, and is open both along strike and to depth. These two near-vertical infill drill holes, collared within the core of the Marathon mineralized corridor, were designed to penetrate down through the gentle southwest-dipping en-echelon stacked QTP (quartz-tourmaline-pyrite) veining. These gently dipping veins occur in packets like cards in a deck of cards and these packets or decks of veins are separated by more weakly gold-mineralized rock. The drill holes reported in this release were designed to drill right through the decks of veins at almost true thickness and clearly demonstrate the continuity of the strong gold mineralization from near surface to more than 300 metres of depth in the Marathon deposit. This style of gold veining is not unique to the Valentine Lake gold camp and occurs elsewhere such as the Val d'Or district, Quebec.

These latest excellent drill results will be incorporated into the upcoming resource update for the Marathon deposit which is expected to be released by the end of February, 2017. The second resource update will be property wide at the Valentine Lake gold camp and it will be completed later this year. The second resource update will include information collected from the February, 2017, resource update and the information will be used to optimize new planned drilling at the Sprite and Victory deposits as well as other new gold showings. Drilling with two rigs continues around the clock at both the Marathon and Leprechaun deposits.

Highlights:

• Best intercepts for MA-17-159 include: 3.43 g/t Au (uncut) over 50.0 metres with 5.98 g/t Au over three metres, 5.91 g/t Au over two metres and 15.36 g/t Au (uncut) over seven metres; 2.57 g/t Au over 50.0 metres with 6.10 g/t Au over 12.0 metres and 4.56 g/t Au over four metres; and 7.49 g/t Au (uncut) over 13.0 metres with 29.07 g/t Au (uncut) over three metres.
• Best intercepts in MA-17-158 include: 1.53 g/t Au over 73.0 metres with 6.42 g/t Au over seven metres and 3.50 g/t Au over six metres, and 3.95 g/t Au over nine metres. The hole deflected out of the mineralization shortly after the last intercept.
• Near-vertical infill drill holes MA-17-158 and MA-17-159, collared within the core of the Marathon mineralized corridor, were designed to penetrate at normal (90 degrees) to and down through the gentle southwest-dipping en-echelon stacked QTP veining of the Marathon mineralized corridor. Both of these new drill holes were very successful in demonstrating the vertical continuity of the strong gold mineralization from near surface to more than 300 metres of depth in the Marathon deposit.
• The 50-to-100-metre-wide (TT) subvertical mineralized corridor of the Marathon deposit has a current well-defined strike length of over 550 metres, extends to depth for more than 400 metres, and is open both along strike and to depth. The alteration and mineralized corridor of the Marathon deposit, including the 2015 open-pit resource shell, now extends northeast-southwest along strike for at least 1.7 kilometres. Detailed drilling has covered only 30 per cent of that current 1.7-kilometre strike length. Future drilling will focus on expanding the Marathon deposit both along strike and to depth.

"The consistent success of the near-vertical infill drill holes in penetrating wide intervals of good grade gold from near surface to 300 m depth in the core of the Marathon deposit proves the vertical continuity of the gold mineralization within the Marathon deposit mineralized corridor," said Phillip Walford, president and chief executive officer of Marathon. "The results of drilling are impressive to date and we have an aggressive 2017 winter drilling campaign to build gold resources at the Valentine Lake gold camp. The Marathon deposit is taking on some of the characteristics of some of the deposits I have been involved with in Northern Ontario and Quebec."

       SIGNIFICANT FIRE ASSAY INTERVALS FROM DRILL HOLES MA-17-158 AND MA-17-159, 
                 MARATHON GOLD DEPOSIT, VALENTINE LAKE GOLD CAMP

DDH               From     To       Core length      True width      Gold Gold (cut)
No.                (m)    (m)               (m)             (m)     (g/t)      (g/t)

MA-17-158           28     31                 3             2.9      2.34
                    75     84                 9             8.6      3.95
including           78     80                 2             1.9     13.53
                   101    174                73            69.4      1.53
including          101    108                 7             6.7      6.42
including          147    148                 1             1.0      4.87
including          153    155                 2             1.9      3.75
including          167    173                 6             5.7      3.50
MA-17-159           45    483                 3             2.9      1.74
                    70     75                 5             4.8      3.84
                    88    138                50            47.5      3.43       2.30
including           88     91                 3             2.9      5.98
including          110    112                 2             1.9      5.91
including          131    138                 7             6.7     15.36       7.24
                   161    211                50            47.5      2.57
including          161    173                12            11.4      6.10
including          183    184                 1             1.0      5.98
including          194    198                 4             3.8      4.56
                   258    271                13            12.4      7.49       4.07
including          268    271                 3             2.9     29.07      14.28
                   288    294                 6             5.7      4.78
                   351    356                 5             4.8      2.53
                   382    390                 8             7.6      1.96
                   427    432                 5             4.8      1.91
                   442    445                 3             2.9      2.02

All of the samples were fire assayed at Eastern Analytical Laboratory Ltd., in Springdale, Nfld.

Marathon Gold acknowledges the financial support of the JEA program, Department of Natural Resources, government of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Research and Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador has granted approximately 75 per cent of the costs of the current metallurgical program to Marathon Gold and the company appreciates this support.

Sherry Dunsworth, MSc, PGeo, vice-president of exploration, Marathon's qualified person, has reviewed the contents for accuracy and has approved this press release on behalf of Marathon. All core samples were collected using established quality assurance/quality control protocols including insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates at regular intervals in each sample batch. All reported core samples were analyzed for gold by fire assay (30 grams) with atomic absorption finish at Eastern Analytical Ltd., Springdale, Nfld. Significant mineralized intervals are reported in the associated table as core lengths and estimated true thickness (95 per cent of core length).

About Marathon Gold

Marathon Gold is rapidly advancing its 100-per-cent-owned Valentine Lake gold camp located in Newfoundland, one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world. The Valentine Lake property currently hosts four near-surface, mainly pit-shell-constrained, gold resources totalling 1,060,100 ounces gold at 2.20 g/t (measured and indicated) and 200,000 ounces gold at 2.85 g/t (inferred) (April, 2015).

We seek Safe Harbor.