History of The Boston Marathon

BOSTON MARATHON

Inspired by the first marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon began in 1897 which makes it the world’s oldest marathon. The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon sporting event that is hosted by the city of Boston, Massachusetts and is held on Patriot’s Day, the third Monday of April. This marathon is one of only five members of the World Marathon Majors and is ranked among the most prestigious road racing events. The current day Boston Marathon is managed by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.). Established in 1887, the B.A.A. is a not-for-profit organized sports association administrating and running the annual Boston Marathon as well as year-round community programming.

The Boston Marathon started out as a free event that awarded winners wreaths woven from olive branches. As of the mid-1980s the olive branch wreaths have been replaced by cash awards because professional athletes refused to participate otherwise.

In spite of the fact that women were not allowed to officially register as runners in the Boston Marathon until 1972, there were several women who did so anyway: Roberta (a.k.a. Bobbi) Gibb is recognized as the first woman who ran, albeit unregistered, the entire marathon in 1966. Kathrine Switzer beat the system in 1967 by registering as K. V. Switzer and ran the marathon from start to finish while the then race official tried to eject her. In 1996 the B.A.A. retroactively and officially acknowledged these and all the other women who ran the Boston Marathon between 1966 and 1971 as champions.

Although the Boston Marathon is now open to all runners, male and female, from anywhere in the world, there are certain entry requirements:

• Within eighteen months of the Boston Marathon, runners must have first completed a traditional marathon route that has been certified by a national governing body which is affiliated with the International Association of Athletics Federations.
• Male runners between eighteen and thirty four years of age must run a time of no more than three hours and ten minutes while female runners of the same age range must run a time of no more than three hours and forty minutes. The running times are adjusted upwards for older participants of both genders. The Boston Marathon, by the way, is the only American marathon that requires qualifying time.
• 1,250 runners are permitted to forgo the running time requirements if they raise a preset level of sponsorship for formally selected local charities.

A wheelchair-bound “runner” completed the entire course of the marathon in 1975 and started a new tradition for the push rim wheelchair racers, for the visually and blind as well as for the mobility impaired. To uphold excellence of the Boston Marathon, an official set of appropriate and realistic qualifying times were set for these disabled and impaired participants.

The Boston Marathon course runs through 26.22 miles (42.195 km) of twisting and winding roads that follow Route 135, Route 16, Route 30 and city streets into downtown Boston where its finish line is marked at Copley Square. Because of the Newton, Massachusetts hills (the renown Heartbreak Hill near Boston College on Washington Street along Route 16 which ascends from the Charles River crossing after one hundred and fifty foot drop in a mere half a mile and the following three hills on Commonwealth Avenue along Route 30) the Boston Marathon is considered one of the most difficult marathons. In spite of hilly New England landscape and the erratic climate, the Boston Marathon attracts an average of twenty thousand registered professional and amateur runners from all parts of the globe. On its hundredth anniversary in 1997, the Boston Marathon enjoyed more than thirty eight thousand registered participants.

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