John J. McDermott, Ronald J. MacDonald, Lawrence Brignolia, John "Jack" Caffery, John "Jack" Caffery,Sammy Mellor,John Lorden,Michael Spring, Frederick Lorz , Tim Ford, Thomas Longboat,Thomas Morrissey, Henri Renaud, Fred Cameron, Clarence DeMar, Michael J. Ryan, Fritz Carlson, James Duffy, Édouard Fabrer,Arthur Roth, Bill Kennedy, Military Relay, Carl Linder, Peter Trivoulides, Frank Zuna, Clarence DeMar, Clarence DeMar, Clarence DeMar, Charles Mellor, Johnny Miles, Clarence DeMar, Clarence DeMar, Johnny Miles, Clarence DeMar, James Henigan, Paul de Bruyn, Leslie S. Pawson, Dave Komonen, John A. Kelley, Ellison Brown, Walter Young, Leslie S. Pawson,
Ellison Brown,Gérard Côté, Leslie S. Pawson, Joe Smith , Gérard Côté, Gérard Côté, John A. Kelley, Stylianos Kyriakides, Suh Yun-bok, Gérard Côté, Karl Leandersson, Ham Kee-Yong,Shigeki Tanaka,
Doroteo Flores Guatemala, Keizo Yamada, Veikko Karvonen, Hideo Hamamura, Antti Viskari, John J. Kelley, Franjo Mihalić, Eino Oksanen, Paavo Kotila, Eino Oksanen, Eino Oksanen, Aurèle Vandendriessche, Aurèle Vandendriessche, Morio Shigematsu, Kenji Kimihara , Dave McKenzie, Amby Burfoot, Yoshiaki Unetani, Ron Hill, Álvaro Mejía, Olavi Suomalainen, Jon Anderson, Neil Cusack,
Bill Rodgers, Jack Fultz, Jerome Drayton, Bill Rodgers, Bill Rodgers, Bill Rodgers, Toshihiko Seko, Alberto Salazar , Greg Meyer, Geoff Smith, Geoff Smith, Robert de Castella, Toshihiko Seko, Ibrahim Hussein, Abebe Mekonnen, Gelindo Bordin, Ibrahim Hussein, Ibrahim Hussein, Cosmas Ndeti, Cosmas Ndeti, Cosmas Ndeti, Moses Tanui, Lameck Aguta, Moses Tanui, Joseph Chebet, Elijah Lagat, Lee Bong-Ju, Rodgers Rop, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Timothy Cherigat, Hailu Negussie, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Deriba Merga, Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, Geoffrey Mutai, Wesley Korir,
Bobbi Gibb, Bobbi Gibb, Bobbi Gibb, Sara Mae Berman, Sara Mae Berman, Sara Mae Berman,
Nina Kuscsik, Jacqueline Hansen, Miki Gorman, Liane Winter, Kim Merritt, Miki Gorman, Gayle Barron, Joan Benoit, Jacqueline Gareau, Allison Roe, Charlotte Teske, Joan Benoit,Lorraine Moller, Lisa Larsen Weidenbach, Ingrid Kristiansen, Rosa Mota. Rosa Mota, Ingrid Kristiansen, Rosa Mota, Wanda Panfil, Olga Markova, Olga Markova, Uta Pippig, Uta Pippig, Uta Pippig, Fatuma Roba, Fatuma Roba,
Fatuma Roba, Catherine Ndereba,Catherine Ndereba, Margaret Okayo, Svetlana Zakharova, Catherine Ndereba, Catherine Ndereba, Rita Jeptoo, Lidiya Grigoryeva, Dire Tune,
Salina Kosgei, Teyba Erkesso, Caroline Kilel, Sharon Cherop,
116 races, 162 winners both male and female (the female races wasn't added until 1966 while the men's race has existed for the full 116 years) For well over a hundred years, the Boston Marathon has been the pinnacle of long distance running and with its 117th renewal set to take place this Monday, a city usually caught up in the epidemic of history and success that the Red Sox and Celtics employ, and the brutal body checking, fighting and tackling of the Bruins and Pats, will turn its eyes away from its mainstream sports instead coming to focus on the legendary annual contest that is the Boston Marathon.
As said before in it's 116 races, between the women and men there have been 162 winners (names above are all the winners listed chronologically by men and women's races respectively), yet while when 363 days ago when Wesley Korir coasted across the finish line and kissed the blue painted road that signified his completing the race, he was in fact, running across the same line on the roadway that was run upon 117 years ago, nothing about the modern race could even be compared to the one that conceived this great legacy back in the spring of 1897.
At that point in time, the sport of marathoning was a relativity new concept and as the news surrounding inception of the Modern Olympics over in Greece running strong, stories of a sport literally born from a myth began to surface. That sport was the Marathon. Legend has it that midway through the Athenian war with the Persians (said to take place around 490 BC) the Athenian army found themselves pinned back by the mighty Persians. Desperate for reinforcements, the Athenian generals called upon a well built messenger their fighting for their army, sending him to the walls of Sparta to beg the ruthless Spartans for their help in the war. Over the next few days, Phidipides would run a combined total of around 420 miles running back and fourth between Sparta and Marathon, before upon the Athenians somehow winning the battle sprinting the 26.2 mile distance between Marathon and Athens itself hence the name "Marathon".
Back to the modern Olympics. This sport was intriguing, appealing to many as is seemed to symbolize perhaps the toughest event at that years Olympics. Over the few months between when that 1896 Olympic Marathon was announced and when it was actually held already established distance runners from across the world each looking for a greater challenge flocked to Athens and toed the line before running what is widely regarded as the first professional modern day marathon.
When all was said and done, the race had been a huge success and when 1 year later these same runners were looking to do it all again, this time there was no Olympic outlet, this time there was Boston.
At that point in time the United States was still just 32 years removed from the very Civil war that had threatened to tear it apart. Grover Cleveland was the president of the nation and, heck, Babe Ruth was just 2 years old. On that the 3rd Monday in the 4th month of the 1 thousand 8 hundred and 97th year since 0 AD, 15 eager Bostonians set fourth looking to concur the 24.5 mile course set out before them (the marathon wasn't lengthened to its current distance until the late 1920's). For some it took almost the entire day to beat the rolling hills and sharp turns of the Boston course yet for eventual winner John J McDermott the race was over in just 2 hours 55 minutes and 10 seconds. But the past is the past, and while at its beginning Boston mustered just 15 participants for its inaugural marathon this race has grown into so much more as in the words of Honolulu marathon president Jim Barahal "Finishing the Boston marathon is probably the athletic achievement of a lifetime for many people." And really that's no exaggeration.
For 117 years the Boston Marathon has been a symbolism of amateur and elite excellence, a simple testament to persistence and athletic prowess and without a doubt the ultimate goal of elite runners from across the world. For 117 years when the 3rd Monday in April rolls around, while the games go on, Boston fans drop their Sox jerseys, their Tom Brady trading cards and all else, instead taking to the streets near Copley Square and the roads running into it, grasping words on cardboard signs or chants of inspiration scrawled across colored bed sheets as they fight to get as close to the road as physically possible.
Every year on the 3rd Monday in April the Marathon makes Boston fans forget about baseball, and that's not easy to do.
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