Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon, sometimes referred to as the Patriot’s Day Race, is one of the best-known races in the United States and around the world. It first started in 1897 - a year after US Olympic Team Manager John Graham attended the first modern Olympics. The race ran on April 19, Patriot’s Day, to mark the advent of the Revolutionary War. During the history of the Boston Marathon, races continued to take place on Patriot’s Day unless the day fell on a Sunday. The date of the day, therefore, switched to Monday. Patriot’s Day remained the race day from 1897 to 1968. The holiday changed in 1969 to the third Monday in April. The marathon also made the switch.

During its time-period, the Boston Marathon route and length has hanged to meet various requirements. Originally, the race started on Ashland. In 1924, the route altered. A Boston Marathon map now shows the route begins at Hopkins and ends at Copley Square beside the Boston Public Library. Three years later, another major change altered the length. In order to meet Olympic criterion, the race lengthened from 24.5 miles to the full marathon distance of 26 miles and 385 yards. The answer to the question “How many miles long is the Boston Marathon?” is now 26.2 miles.

The Boston Marathon is a hard course to run. The winding route of the Boston Marathon course includes the formidable Heartbreak Hill. There are also three other hills on Commonwealth Avenue and one on Washington Street that provide runners with a challenge. All this a runner undertakes no matter what the weather and Boston Marathon weather is not always amicable to its runners.

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In order to run in the Boston Marathon you have to meet certain criteria. Boston Marathon qualifying times are obtained by setting a specific designated time at other Marathons, including the Austin Marathon. In order to qualify for the Boston Marathon, a runner must achieve the specified time under the same standards and rules applicable applied by the Boston Marathon. All runners must wear a ChampionChip. This helps the organizers of the Boston Marathon in tracking and timing participants.

The Boston Marathon coverage both before and after the event is extensive. Television and radio provide information and clips on Boston Marathon winners and related events. In 1967, the biggest Boston Marathon news story surrounded the first female to run a full Boston marathon. Roberta Gibb ran unofficially from 1966 to 1968, but Katherine Switzer obtained a bib number by equivocating about her gender. The Boston Athletic Association attempted to remove her, physically, when they discovered her gender. Coverage of the Boston Marathon live recorded these unsuccessful attempts. The first official woman to win the race was Nina Kuscik in 1972.

Boston Marathon winners over the years include Veikko Karvonen of Finland in the 1954 Boston Marathon. His time was 2:20:39. The first wheelchair winner was Bob Hall in 1975 at 2:58. For his efforts, he received an official BAA Finisher’s Certificate. This was something the Race Director, Will Cloney, had promised Bob Hall is his final time was less than three hours. Other Boston Marathon notable winners include Olympic Champions Fatuma Roba, Joan Benoit and Rosa Mota.