Kidding aside, though, a runner can technically even stop in a coffee shop for a latte during a marathon and then continue on without a DQ--not that I'd recommend this if the runner has a time limit and isn't going too fast to begin with. A DQ would, however, result if said runner, upon leaving the coffee shop, boarded a subway to the finish and crossed the finish line. In the first instance, the rest didn't result in forward progress; in the second, it did.
I've volunteered at ultramarathon aid stations, and runners can pause for as long as they need to (again bearing time limits in mind). I'm not sure, but I think they can have physical contact w volunteers (such as massages). They can perhaps rest in a car as long as the car doesn't move and take them to the finish.
Point being not to say there shouldn't be a rule against touching a boat, but only that marathon swimming isn't necessarily akin to other sports in how it rules re rest stops.
One might say it's more bad-a $$ than many other sports.
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