Mr. Phillip Walford reports

MARATHON DEPOSIT DRILLING HITS IN MAIN ZONE CORRIDOR: 1.88 G/T AU OVER 225M WITH 4.87 G/T AU OVER 25M & 3.38 G/T AU OVER 25M VALENTINE LAKE GOLD CAMP, NEWFOUNDLAND

Marathon Gold Corp. has released very positive results from new drilling at the Marathon deposit, Valentine Lake gold camp, central Newfoundland. Additional infill drilling, down through the 75-to-100-metre-wide and more-than-500-to-700-metre-deep mineralized corridor of the Marathon deposit, has further confirmed the continuity of good gold grades throughout the corridor with 1.88 grams per tonne gold over 225 metres including 4.87 g/t Au over 25 metres and 3.38 g/t Au over 25 metres in MA-17-213. Drill holes drilled across the main mineralized corridor also intercepted numerous high-grade intervals including 7.21 g/t Au over seven metres in MA-17-201, 3.59 g/t Au over 18 metres in MA-17-206, 12.65 g/t Au over three metres in MA-17-207, 2.19 g/t Au over 22 metres in MA-17-204 and 4.04 g/t Au over seven metres in MA-17-209. Drilling toward the southwest end of the current resource pit shell also intersected significant mineralization with 8.46 g/t Au over five metres in MA-17-203, 3.44 g/t Au over three metres in MA-17-210 and 3.57 g/t Au over three metres in MA-17-208.

Marathon has now released the results of just 38 per cent of its planned 60,000-metre drill campaign. Over the next month, drilling at the Marathon deposit will have a threefold approach with steep, infill drilling focused on the upper open pit as well as underground regions of the deposit, stepout drilling toward the southwest along strike to further expand the open-pit, hanging and footwall drilling aimed at reducing strip ratio for the resource pit shell. As much of this drilling as possible will be included in the resource update for the property scheduled for the end of October or early November. The resource will form a base for the PEA planned for completion in the second quarter of 2018.

Drilling highlights:

• Drill hole MA-17-213, drilled subvertical down through the en-echelon stacked quartz-tourmaline-pyrite-gold (QTP) veining of the Marathon deposit main corridor, intersected 1.88 g/t Au over 242 metres including significant higher-grade intervals of 3.38 g/t Au over 25 metres, 4.87 g/t Au over 25 metres, 3.13 g/t Au over nine metres and 3.29 g/t Au over 13 metres.
• Drill hole MA-17-212, also drilled subvertical down through the en-echelon stacked quartz-tourmaline-pyrite-gold (QTP) veining of the Marathon deposit main corridor, intersected 1.98 g/t Au over 53 metres including 7.77 g/t Au over seven metres and 1.98 g/t Au over 22 metres with 9.49 g/t Au over two metres and 3.89 g/t Au over nine metres.
• Additional steep drill holes MA-17-201 and MA-17-207 intersected significant high-grade gold intercepts as these holes penetrated deeper crossing the main corridor with 7.21 g/t Au over seven metres with 23.34 g/t Au over two metres in MA-17-201 and 6.09 g/t Au over three metres, 4.81 g/t Au over four metres and 12.65 g/t Au over three metres in MA-17-207.
• Moderately inclined drill holes, designed to penetrate across the main corridor, thereby confirming width of the corridor, intersected 2.19 g/t Au over 22 metres including 7.48 g/t Au over three metres in MA-17-204, 3.59 g/t Au over 18 metres with 8.80 g/t Au over four metres in MA-17-206, 4.04 g/t Au over seven metres and 4.09 g/t Au over five metres in MA-17-209, and 11.88 g/t Au over 3.4 metres in MA-17-211.
• Drill holes collared along strike to the southwest continued to intersect significant mineralization including 8.46 g/t Au over five metres with 18.97 g/t Au over two metres in MA-17-203, 3.44 g/t Au over three metres and 2.24 g/t Au over three metres in MA-17-210, and 3.57 g/t Au over three metres in MA-17-208.

"Our successful drilling at the Marathon deposit continues to confirm the continuity of good gold grades throughout the main zone corridor and that we are discovering new mineralization," said Phillip Walford, president and chief executive officer of Marathon. "Robbert Borst, our manager for the PEA, is now focusing on the various tasks required for the PEA which will commence once the resource estimate is updated."

       SIGNIFICANT FIRE ASSAY INTERVALS FROM DRILL HOLES MA-17-201 TO MA-17-214, 
                   MARATHON DEPOSIT, VALENTINE LAKE GOLD CAMP

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

MA-17-201      441   444             3               2.9           2.36
               516   519             3               2.9           2.36
               545   552             7               6.7           7.21
including      550   552             2               1.9          23.34
MA-17-203      235   240             5               4.0           8.46
including      238   240             2               1.6          18.97
MA-17-204       35    38             3               2.4           1.43
               167   189            22              17.6           2.19
including      167   169             2               1.6           6.36
including      180   183             3               2.4           7.48
               210   216             6               4.8           2.21
               269   272             3               2.4           7.25
MA-17-205      103   106             3               2.1           1.39
MA-17-206      413   416             3               2.6           2.61
               438   441             3               2.6           2.12
               479   497            18              15.3           3.59
including      482   486             4               3.4           8.80
MA-17-207      314   317             3               2.9           6.09
               350   354             4               3.8           4.81
               386   389             3               2.9          12.65          11.31
               424   427             3               2.9           6.00
MA-17-208       51    54             3               2.3           3.57
               236   239             3               2.3           1.93
MA-17-209      402   406             4               3.2           6.00
               419   426             7               5.6           4.04
               442   447             5               4.0           4.09
               454   460             6               4.8           3.65
MA-17-210      115   118             3               2.3           3.44
               151   154             3               2.3           2.24
MA-17-211      4.6     8           3.4               2.4          11.88
MA-17-212       12    15             3               2.9           3.14
                41    44             3               2.9           1.25
                69   122            53              50.4           1.98           1.73
including       78    80             2               1.9           5.93
including       87    94             7               6.7           7.77           5.87
               233   255            22              20.9           1.98
including      238   240             2               1.9           9.49
               318   327             9               8.6           3.89
MA-17-213       17   242           225             213.8           1.88
including       17    42            25              23.8           3.38
including       46    51             5               4.8           3.03
including       66    75             9               8.6           3.13
including       90    94             4               3.8           3.04
including      113   126            13              12.4           3.29
including      171   196            25              23.8           4.87
including      217   225             8               7.6           3.42
               276   306            30              28.5           1.53
including      290   295             5               4.8           4.63
MA-17-214       71    74             3               2.1           1.38

* Au cut-off 33 g/t Au (February, 2017, resource update).

Acknowledgments

Marathon acknowledges the financial support of the junior exploration assistance program, Department of Natural Resources, government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

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.