The Marathon Trivia Questions

The AAU banned women from competing in marathons until 1972. Kathrine Switzer famously ran the 1967 Boston Marathon despite officials trying to stop her.

First held in 1897, the Boston Marathon is the longest-running annual marathon globally, having been run every year since, except for a remote format in 2021.

The marathon is 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km), not exactly 26 miles. The extra 385 yards came from the 1908 London Olympics to accommodate the royal family.

The marathon event was introduced at the first modern Olympics in 1896, inspired by the legend of Pheidippides. Spyridon Louis won the inaugural race.

The official marathon distance is 26.2 miles (42.195 km), not 26 miles. It was set at the 1908 London Olympics.

Marathon courses can be point-to-point (e.g., Boston Marathon from Hopkinton to Boston) or loops. IAAF rules only require the distance to be accurate, not a closed loop.

The original 1896 Olympic marathon was about 24.85 miles (40 km). The 26.2-mile distance was introduced in 1908 and adopted as the standard in 1921. So it was never originally 26 miles.

The runner's death is a legend first recorded by Lucian centuries later, not a contemporaneous account. The first verified marathon race took place at the 1896 Olympics.

The wall is primarily caused by glycogen depletion, not dehydration. Runners run out of stored carbs, forcing the body to burn fat less efficiently.

The modern marathon distance of 26.2 miles (42.195 km) originated from the 1908 London Olympics, where the course was extended to start at Windsor Castle and finish in front of the royal box.

The Boston Marathon, the world's oldest annual marathon, was first run on April 19, 1897, the year after the inaugural Olympic marathon.

No marathon race existed in ancient Greek Olympics. The event was created for the 1896 modern Olympics, based on the story of Pheidippides' run from Marathon to Athens.

The distance was set at the 1908 London Olympics, running from Windsor Castle to the royal box in the Olympic Stadium, and was later adopted as the official marathon length.

After variations in distance, the International Amateur Athletic Federation standardized the marathon at 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards) in 1921.

Fauja Singh, a British-Indian Sikh, finished the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2011 at age 100, making him the oldest verified marathon finisher.

In the 1896 Olympics, first place winners received a silver medal and an olive branch. Gold medals were introduced in 1904.