The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities in greater Boston in

eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April.
[1]
 Begun in 1897, the event was inspired by the success of the first marathon competition in the 1896
Summer Olympics.[2] The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of
the world's best-known road racing events. It is one of six World Marathon Majors. Its course runs
from Hopkinton in southern Middlesex County to Copley Square in Boston.
The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has organized this event since 1897,[3] and it has been
managed by DMSE Sports, Inc. since 1988. Amateur and professional runners from all over the world
compete in the Boston Marathon each year, braving the hilly Massachusetts terrain and varying weather
to take part in the race.
The event attracts 500,000 spectators each year, making it New England's most widely viewed sporting
event.[4] Though starting with 15 participants in 1897, the event now attracts an average of about 30,000
registered participants each year, with 30,251 people entering in 2015.[5] The Centennial Boston
Marathon in 1996 established a record as the world's largest marathon with 38,708 entrants, 36,748
starters, and 35,868 finishers.[4]
The Boston Marathon was first run in April 1897, having been inspired by the revival of the marathon for
the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. It is the oldest continuously running marathon,[6] and the
second longest continuously running footrace in North America, having debuted five months after
the Buffalo Turkey Trot.[7]
On April 19, 1897, ten years after the establishment of the B.A.A., the association held the 24.5 miles
(39.4 km) marathon to conclude its athletic competition, the B.A.A. Games.[3] The inaugural winner
was John J. "JJ" McDermott,[4] who ran the 24.5 mile course in 2:55:10, leading a field of 15. The event
was scheduled for the recently established holiday of Patriots' Day, with the race linking the Athenian
and American struggles for liberty.[8] The race, which became known as the Boston Marathon, has been
held every year since then, even during the World War years & the Great Depression, making it the
world's oldest annual marathon. In 1924, the starting line was moved from Metcalf's Mill
in Ashland to Hopkinton Green and the course was lengthened to 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km) to
conform to the standard set by the 1908 Summer Olympics and codified by the IAAF in 1921.[9]
The Boston Marathon was originally a local event, but its fame and status have attracted runners from
all over the world. For most of its history, the Boston Marathon was a free event, and the only prize
awarded for winning the race was a wreath woven from olive branches.[10] However, corporate-
sponsored cash prizes began to be awarded in the 1980s, when professional athletes refused to run the
race unless they received a cash award. The first cash prize for winning the marathon was awarded in
1986.[11]
Walter A. Brown was the President of the Boston Athletic Association from 1941 to 1964.[12] During the
height of the Korean War in 1951, Brown denied Koreans entry into the Boston Marathon. He stated:
"While American soldiers are fighting and dying in Korea, every Korean should be fighting to protect his
country instead of training for marathons. As long as the war continues there, we positively will not
accept Korean entries for our race on April 19."[13]

Bobbi Gibb and Kathrine Switzer[edit]

The Boston Marathon rule book until after the 1967 race made no mention of gender,[14] nor did the AAU
exclude women from races that included men until after the 1967 Boston Marathon.[15] A separate
women's race was not established at the Boston Marathon until 1972. Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb is
recognized by the race organizers as the first woman to run the entire Boston Marathon in 1966. Gibb's
attempt to register for that race was refused by race director Will Cloney in a letter in which he claimed
women were physiologically incapable of running 26 miles.[16] Gibb finished the 1966 race in three hours,
twenty-one minutes and forty seconds,[17] ahead of two-thirds of the runners.
In 1967, Kathrine Switzer, who registered for the race using her official AAU registration number, paying
the entry fee, providing a properly acquired fitness certificate, and signing her entry form with her usual
signature 'K. V. Switzer', was the first woman to run and finish with a valid official race registration.[14] As
a result of Switzer's completion of the race as the first officially registered woman runner, the AAU
changed its rules to ban women from competing in races against men.[15] Switzer finished the race
despite an infamous incident in which race official Jock Semple repeatedly assaulted her in an attempt
to rip off her race numbers and eject her from the race.[14][18] In 1996 the B.A.A. retroactively recognized
as champions the unofficial women's leaders of 1966 through 1971. In 2015, about 46 percent of the
entrants were female.

Rosie Ruiz, the impostor[edit]

In 1980, Rosie Ruiz crossed the finish line first in the women's race. Marathon officials became
suspicious when it was discovered that Ruiz did not appear in race videotapes until near the end of the
race. A subsequent investigation concluded that Ruiz had skipped most of the race and blended into the
crowd about one mile (1.6 km) from the finish line, where she then ran to her false victory. Ruiz was
officially disqualified, and Canadian Jacqueline Gareau was proclaimed the winner.[19][20]