60 free Boston Marathon trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Boston Marathon trivia quiz runs the whole course, from the 1897 race inspired by the Athens Olympics to the champions of the 2020s. The easy questions are ones any spectator on Marathon Monday could answer: the town where it starts, the street where it ends, the holiday it is run on, the hill near Boston College, and the college whose students form the Scream Tunnel. The harder end is for runners and race historians: the olive wreath that was once the only prize, why Bobbi Gibb had to run unregistered, the bib number Jock Semple tried to tear off Kathrine Switzer, how Rosie Ruiz was caught, why Geoffrey Mutai's 2:03:02 never counted as a world record, the astronaut who ran the race in orbit, the year the marathon became a military relay, the qualifying time for the 2026 race, and the wheelchair racer with ten titles. Clarence DeMar, Johnny Kelley, Tarzan Brown, Bill Rodgers, Uta Pippig, Meb Keflezighi and Des Linden get questions too. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries for the race, its organisers and its winners before publishing, and the supporting sentence is stored with each question. If you enjoy this one, try our marathon, New York City Marathon and Boston quizzes next.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which town does the Boston Marathon start?
Hopkinton
The start moved there from Metcalf's Mill in Ashland in 1924.
Q 02Where in Boston is the finish line?
Boylston Street
The finish sits near Copley Square in the Back Bay.
Q 03On which holiday is the Boston Marathon traditionally held?
Patriots' Day
Since 1969 the holiday has fallen on the third Monday of April, known locally as Marathon Monday.
Q 04In which year was the first Boston Marathon run?
1897
It was inspired by the marathon at the 1896 Athens Olympics the year before.
Q 05Which event inspired the founding of the Boston race?
The 1896 Athens Olympics marathon
The B.A.A. had been founded ten years earlier, in 1887.
Q 06What distinction does Boston hold among the world's big road races?
Oldest annual marathon
It has been run in some form every year, through both world wars and the Depression.
Q 07Who won the first Boston Marathon in 1897 in 2:55:10?
John J. McDermott
He led a field of just 15 runners over a 24.5-mile course.
Q 08How long was the original 1897 course from Metcalf's Mill in Ashland?
24.5 miles
The distance was standardised after the 1908 Olympics fixed 26 miles 385 yards.
Q 09For most of its history, what was the only prize for winning the Boston Marathon?
A wreath of olive branches
Professional runners eventually refused to compete without money.
Q 10In which year did the Boston Marathon award its first cash prize?
1986
Professional athletes had refused to compete without prize money.
Q 11How many cities and towns does the course pass through?
Eight
The route finishes in Boston after passing through Newton and Brookline.
Q 12Near which school does Heartbreak Hill crest?
Boston College
It is the last of four Newton hills, arriving just after mile 20.
Q 13How much does Heartbreak Hill actually rise vertically?
88 feet
Its reputation comes from timing: it arrives when glycogen stores are most depleted.
Q 14Whose heart was broken on the hill in 1936 after he patted a rival on the shoulder?
Q 21Which impostor crossed the 1980 finish line first in the women's race and was disqualified?
Rosie Ruiz
She had blended into the crowd about half a mile from the finish.
Q 22Who was declared the 1980 women's winner after the impostor was disqualified?
Jacqueline Gareau
The Canadian's win was confirmed eight days after the race.
Q 23Where had the 1980 impostor reportedly been spotted during her qualifying New York City Marathon?
On the subway
A photographer said she walked with her from the subway to the finish area.
John A. Kelley
Ellison Tarzan Brown rallied after the pat, passed him and won.
Q 15Whose students form the Scream Tunnel about half a mile before halfway?
Wellesley
Runners claim it can be heard a mile away; it comes about half a mile before halfway.
Q 16Which woman ran the entire 1966 race unregistered after the director refused her entry?
Bobbi Gibb
Will Cloney had claimed women were physiologically incapable of running 26 miles.
Q 17Which official tried to rip Kathrine Switzer's number off during the 1967 race?
Jock Semple
The two later became friends.
Q 18What bib number did Kathrine Switzer wear in 1967, later the name of her non-profit?
261
She entered as K. V. Switzer and had a male runner collect the bib for her.
Q 19In which year were women first officially allowed to enter the Boston Marathon?
1972
That year's official women's winner had lobbied the AAU to lift its distance limit.
Q 20Who was the first woman to officially win the Boston Marathon?
Nina Kuscsik
She had lobbied the AAU in 1971 to lift its distance limit for women's races.
Q 24How many Boston Marathons did Clarence DeMar win?
Seven
He also took bronze in the marathon at the 1924 Paris Olympics.
Q 25How many Boston Marathons did Kelley the Elder, winner in 1935 and 1945, compete in?
61
He won in 1935 and 1945 and ran the Olympic marathon in 1936 and 1948.
Q 26Two-time winner Ellison Tarzan Brown descended from the royal family of which tribe?
Narragansett
He won in 1936 and 1939 and ran the marathon at the Berlin Olympics.
Q 27How many times did Bill Rodgers win the Boston Marathon?
Four
He also won New York four straight times from 1976 to 1979.
Q 28Which 1968 winner, then a Wesleyan student, later edited Runner's World?
Amby Burfoot
His college roommate was Bill Rodgers.
Q 29Which Maine runner won Boston in 1979 as a relative unknown, then took Olympic gold in 1984?
Joan Benoit
She took up distance running to recover from a leg broken while skiing.
Q 30Which German was the first woman to win Boston three years in a row, 1994–1996?
Uta Pippig
Her 2:21:45 in 1994 was then the third-fastest women's marathon ever.