Boston Marathon

node · earth

The oldest annual marathon in the world, first run on 19 April 1897 and held every year since. The first race went from Ashland to the Irvington Oval near Copley Square over about 24.5 miles (39.4 km) with 15 starters, and was won by John J. McDermott in 2:55:10. The start moved west to Hopkinton in 1924 when the course was lengthened to the standardised 42.195 km. The modern course is point-to-point and steeply net downhill: it starts at about 145 m above sea level on Hopkinton Town Common and finishes at about 5 m on Boylston Street, losing roughly 130 feet in the first mile alone, then climbing the four Newton hills between about 27 and 34 km, the last of which is Heartbreak Hill. The profile punishes runners who spend the early descent, and it disqualifies the course from world records: the drop is roughly three times the permitted 1 m per km, and start and finish are about 39 km apart in a straight line against a 21.1 km limit. Boston is also the only Major to require a qualifying time from most entrants.