60 Fun Facts About Boston Marathon

In which town does the Boston Marathon start?

The start moved there from Metcalf's Mill in Ashland in 1924.

Where in Boston is the finish line?

The finish sits near Copley Square in the Back Bay.

On which holiday is the Boston Marathon traditionally held?

Since 1969 the holiday has fallen on the third Monday of April, known locally as Marathon Monday.

In which year was the first Boston Marathon run?

It was inspired by the marathon at the 1896 Athens Olympics the year before.

Which event inspired the founding of the Boston race?

The B.A.A. had been founded ten years earlier, in 1887.

What distinction does Boston hold among the world's big road races?

It has been run in some form every year, through both world wars and the Depression.

Who won the first Boston Marathon in 1897 in 2:55:10?

He led a field of just 15 runners over a 24.5-mile course.

How long was the original 1897 course from Metcalf's Mill in Ashland?

The distance was standardised after the 1908 Olympics fixed 26 miles 385 yards.

For most of its history, what was the only prize for winning the Boston Marathon?

Professional runners eventually refused to compete without money.

In which year did the Boston Marathon award its first cash prize?

Professional athletes had refused to compete without prize money.

How many cities and towns does the course pass through?

The route finishes in Boston after passing through Newton and Brookline.

Near which school does Heartbreak Hill crest?

It is the last of four Newton hills, arriving just after mile 20.

How much does Heartbreak Hill actually rise vertically?

Its reputation comes from timing: it arrives when glycogen stores are most depleted.

Whose heart was broken on the hill in 1936 after he patted a rival on the shoulder?

Ellison Tarzan Brown rallied after the pat, passed him and won.

Whose students form the Scream Tunnel about half a mile before halfway?

Runners claim it can be heard a mile away; it comes about half a mile before halfway.

Which woman ran the entire 1966 race unregistered after the director refused her entry?

Will Cloney had claimed women were physiologically incapable of running 26 miles.

Which official tried to rip Kathrine Switzer's number off during the 1967 race?

The two later became friends.

What bib number did Kathrine Switzer wear in 1967, later the name of her non-profit?

She entered as K. V. Switzer and had a male runner collect the bib for her.

In which year were women first officially allowed to enter the Boston Marathon?

That year's official women's winner had lobbied the AAU to lift its distance limit.

Who was the first woman to officially win the Boston Marathon?

She had lobbied the AAU in 1971 to lift its distance limit for women's races.

Which impostor crossed the 1980 finish line first in the women's race and was disqualified?

She had blended into the crowd about half a mile from the finish.

Who was declared the 1980 women's winner after the impostor was disqualified?

The Canadian's win was confirmed eight days after the race.

Where had the 1980 impostor reportedly been spotted during her qualifying New York City Marathon?

A photographer said she walked with her from the subway to the finish area.

How many Boston Marathons did Clarence DeMar win?

He also took bronze in the marathon at the 1924 Paris Olympics.

How many Boston Marathons did Kelley the Elder, winner in 1935 and 1945, compete in?

He won in 1935 and 1945 and ran the Olympic marathon in 1936 and 1948.

Two-time winner Ellison Tarzan Brown descended from the royal family of which tribe?

He won in 1936 and 1939 and ran the marathon at the Berlin Olympics.

How many times did Bill Rodgers win the Boston Marathon?

He also won New York four straight times from 1976 to 1979.

Which 1968 winner, then a Wesleyan student, later edited Runner's World?

His college roommate was Bill Rodgers.

Which Maine runner won Boston in 1979 as a relative unknown, then took Olympic gold in 1984?

She took up distance running to recover from a leg broken while skiing.

Which German was the first woman to win Boston three years in a row, 1994–1996?

Her 2:21:45 in 1994 was then the third-fastest women's marathon ever.

Which Kenyan won Boston four times, including 2003 and 2006–2008?

His 2:07:14 in 2006 broke a 12-year-old course record.

Which Kenyan woman won Boston four times and Chicago twice?

She was Kenya's Sportswoman of the Year in 2004 and 2005.

Why was Geoffrey Mutai's 2:03:02 in 2011 not ratified as a world record?

World Athletics rules on elevation drop and start-finish separation ruled Boston out.

How far does the course drop from start to finish?

The start is also far west of the finish, allowing a helpful tailwind.

How many spectators were killed by the two bombs at the 2013 finish line?

An estimated 264 people were injured; the race was halted with many runners still on the course.

What kind of homemade devices were detonated in the 2013 attack?

They went off 12 seconds and 210 yards apart near the finish.

Where was Dzhokhar Tsarnaev found hiding after the 2013 manhunt?

Thousands of officers had searched a 20-block area of Watertown door to door.

Which American won the 2014 men's race, the first American man to do so since 1983?

He had also won New York in 2009 and taken Olympic silver in 2004.

Which American woman won the rain-soaked 2018 race, the first US woman to win in 33 years?

Her winning time was 2:39:55.

Which South African holds the record of ten Boston Marathon wheelchair titles?

His 2004 course record of 1:18:29 was almost 50 minutes faster than the fastest runner.

Who was the first person to officially race the Boston Marathon in a wheelchair?

A men's wheelchair division was added in 1975 and a women's in 1977.

Which astronaut ran the 2007 Boston Marathon as an official entrant aboard the ISS?

She became the first person to run a marathon in space.

What replaced the marathon in 1918 because of World War I?

The 2020 virtual alternative was only the second time the format was changed.

What qualifying time did men aged 18–34 need for the 2026 Boston Marathon?

Women and non-binary runners in that age group needed 3:25.

Which mythical animal is the symbol of the Boston Athletic Association?

The club chose it in 1890, three years after its founding.

How many entrants made the 1996 centennial race the world's largest marathon?

35,868 of them finished.

Which team plays a home game at 11:05 a.m. every Marathon Monday?

In the 1940s the Red Sox and Boston Braves alternated the morning game.

How many times did Dick and Rick Hoyt enter the Boston Marathon?

Dick pushed his son Rick in a wheelchair.

Roughly how many spectators line the Boston Marathon route each year?

That makes it New England's most widely viewed sporting event, with about 1,000 credentialed media on hand.

In which month was the 2021 Boston Marathon eventually run after being moved from April?

The 2020 race had been cancelled outright and replaced by a virtual alternative, the first break in more than a century.

What name did Boston give to unregistered runners without a bib, whom it long tolerated?

They were released in an unofficial fourth wave, until organizers moved to discourage them ahead of the 2014 race.

Where near the finish line is the Boston Marathon Memorial, installed for the 100th running?

A circle of granite blocks surrounds a medallion tracing the course, its elevation and the winners' names.

What number appears bib-style on the sleeve of the Red Sox's marathon-inspired City Connect uniform?

It is Boston's area code; the yellow-and-blue kit debuted in 2021 for the weekend before Patriots' Day.

How quickly did the 20,000 qualifier spots for the 2011 race sell out in 2010?

The rush prompted the B.A.A. to tighten qualifying standards from 2013 onward.

Which Swiss racer set the men's push-rim wheelchair course record of 1:17:06 in 2023?

Compatriot Manuela Schär holds the women's mark of 1:28:17 from 2017.

Which South Korean set a men's marathon world record of 2:25:39 at Boston in 1947?

World records have fallen at Boston only four times, including Liane Winter's 1975 and Joan Benoit's 1983 women's marks.

Who was named 2014 women's champion after Rita Jeptoo was disqualified for doping?

Her 2:19:59 became the course record, though Sharon Lokedi lowered it in 2025.

Which B.A.A. president barred Korean runners from the 1951 race during the Korean War?

Brown, who led the association from 1941 to 1964, said Koreans should be defending their country rather than training for marathons.

Which Japanese group ran the marathon and then played taiko drums at the finish, starting in 1975?

Their 700-pound drum was set up at the finish line, and the tradition was repeated in the 1970s and 1990s.

Who became the first female double amputee to finish the Boston Marathon, in 2016?

That year's grand marshal was Bobbi Gibb, half a century after she ran the whole course unregistered.