Mr. Phillip Walford reports

MARATHON CONFIRMS CONTINUITY BY DRILLING HIGH-GRADES THROUGH MAIN ZONE OF LEPRECHAUN DEPOSIT, VALENTINE LAKE GOLD CAMP, NEWFOUNDLAND: 3.42 G/T AU OVER 181 METERS & 2.65 G/T AU OVER 301 METERS

Marathon Gold Corp. has released very positive results of new drilling down through the en-echelon stacked quartz-tourmaline-pyrite-gold (QTP) veining of the main zone corridor at the Leprechaun deposit, Valentine Lake gold camp, central Newfoundland. The new drilling confirms the continuity of excellent gold grades down through the more than 350-metre-deep and 25-to-60-metre-wide mineralized main zone corridor of the Leprechaun deposit. The dominant shallow southwest-dipping en-echelon QTP veining and lesser shear parallel QTP veining of the Leprechaun deposit are similar to the dominant shallow-dipping QTP veining of the Marathon deposit as well as elsewhere throughout the Valentine gold camp.

The drill holes VL-17-653 and VL-17-654, collared 10 metres apart on Section 10000, were designed to penetrate down through the main zone corridor of the Leprechaun deposit, proving the continuous nature of the gold mineralization down through the stacked QTP vein arrays as well as laterally out into the hangingwall. VL-17-653 intersected 3.42 grams per tonne gold over 181 metres including 8.91 g/t Au over nine metres, 9.86 g/t Au over nine metres, 8.46 g/t Au over 11 metres, 19.05 g/t Au over four metres and 7.45 g/t Au over 19 metres. VL-17-654 intersected 2.65 g/t Au over 301 metres including 4.31 g/t Au over 18 metres, 5.07 g/t Au over 73 metres and 5.36 g/t Au over 45 metres. Drilling continues at the property with the focus now on expanding the Marathon resource with both infill and stepout drilling. Marathon has now released the results on just 31 per cent of its planned 60,000-metre drill campaign.

Drilling highlights:

• VL-17-653 intersected 3.42 g/t Au over 181 metres including 8.91 g/t Au over nine metres, 9.86 g/t Au over nine metres, 8.46 g/t Au over 11 metres, 19.05 g/t Au over four metres, 7.45 g/t Au over 19 metres, and 5.39 g/t Au over five metres.
• VL-17-654 intersected 2.65 g/t Au over 301 metres including 5.07 g/t Au over 73 metres, 5.36 g/t Au over 45 metres, 4.31 g/t Au over 18 metres and 6.21 g/t Au over six metres.
• VL-17-649, VL-17-651 and VL-17-652, which were drilled across the strike of the main zone, intersected 3.57 g/t Au over 16 metres with 9.21 g/t Au over five metres in VL-17-652, 4.15 g/t Au over three metres with 9.87 g/t Au over one metre in VL-17-649, and 5.62 g/t Au over three metres in VL-17-651.
• Additional drill holes, drilled down through the hangingwall of the Leprechaun deposit, intersected good hangingwall QTP veining including 6.35 g/t Au over four metres with 24.15 g/t Au over one metre in VL-17-649, 5.70 g/t Au over three metres with 11.80 g/t Au over one metre in VL-17-647 and 4.39 g/t Au over three metres in VL-17-651.
• New drill holes VL-17-655 and VL-17-656, drilled down through the shallow southwest-dipping stacked QTP veining of the main zone corridor at sections 10120 and 10250, respectively, intersected wide intervals of QTP veining with abundant visible gold. Assays are pending.
• Remodelling of the Leprechaun deposit, with a focus on the main zone corridor as well as hangingwall QTP veining, is currently under way in advance of the resource update for the Leprechaun gold deposit.

"The results of this drilling are very important in confirming the geological model being used in the new resource," said Phillip Walford, president and chief executive officer of Marathon. "The high-grade areas tested to date in the main zone of the Leprechaun deposit are much better defined by our recent drilling. Four drill rigs are continuing to add to the resources at both the Marathon and Leprechaun deposits. We are on track to complete the property-wide resource estimation by early November and begin the PEA."

      SIGNIFICANT FIRE ASSAY INTERVALS FROM DRILL HOLES VL-17-647 TO VL-17-654, 
                LEPRECHAUN GOLD DEPOSIT, VALENTINE LAKE GOLD CAMP

DDH         From       To   Core length    True thickness      Gold     Gold (cut)*
             (m)      (m)           (m)               (m)     (g/t)           (g/t)

VL-17-647    260      263             3               2.7      1.32
             279      282             3               2.7      5.70
including    281      282             1               0.9     11.80
VL-17-648    407      410             3               2.7      3.21
             428      431             3               2.7      2.02
VL-17-649    170      174             4               3.8      6.35
including    173      174             1               1.0     24.15
             376      379             3               2.9      4.15
including    376      377             1               1.0      9.87
             414      417             3               2.9      2.50
VL-17-650    274      277             3               2.9      3.04
VL-17-651    159      162             3               2.9      4.39
             252      255             3               2.9      2.00
             309      312             3               2.9      5.62
VL-17-652    252      268            16               9.6      3.57            3.44
including    263      268             5               3.0      9.21            8.80
VL-17-653    102      283           181             144.8      3.42            3.17
including    104      113             9               7.2      8.91            8.82
including    118      123             5               4.0      5.39
including    128      137             9               7.2      9.86
including    145      156            11               8.8      8.46            7.32
including    162      163             1               0.8     11.06
including    171      175             4               3.2     19.05           11.12
including    186      188             2               1.6      4.62
including    204      206             2               1.6      5.95
including    236      255            19              15.2      7.45
including    271      274             3               2.4      5.44
             310      313             3               2.4      4.56
VL-17-654      6      307           301             240.8      2.65            2.63
including     46       64            18              14.4      4.31
including     76      149            73              58.4      5.07
including    228      273            45              36.0      5.36            5.28
including    278      284             6               4.8      6.21
including    297      298             1               0.8     12.86
             340      343             3               2.4      2.07

* Cut-off 33.0 g/t -- 2015 Leprechaun resource update.

Acknowledgments

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

Quality assurance/quality control

Sherry Dunsworth, MSc, PGeo, senior vice-president of exploration, Marathon's qualified person, has reviewed the contents for accuracy and has approved this press release on behalf of Marathon. Thorough QA/QC protocols are followed including the insertion of blanks and standards at regular intervals in each sample batch. Drill core is cut in half with one-half retained at site, the other half tagged and sent to Eastern Analytical Ltd. in Springdale, Nfld. All reported core samples were analyzed for Au by fire assay (30 grams) with AA finish. All samples above 0.10 g/t Au in economically interesting intervals are further assayed using metallic screen to mitigate the presence of coarse gold. Significant mineralized intervals are reported in the table as core lengths and estimated true thicknesses (75 per cent to 95 per cent of core length).

About Marathon Gold Corp.

Marathon is a gold exploration company 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 gold camp currently hosts four near-surface, mainly pit-shell-constrained gold resources totalling 1,388,200 ounces gold at 1.91 g/t (measured and indicated) and 766,500 ounces gold at 2.24 g/t (inferred) (February, 2017).

We seek Safe Harbor.