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On every third Monday of April, known as Patriot's Day in the United States of America, the city of Boston holds the oldest modern day marathon competition of the world. The event, held first in 1897, a year after the inaugural modern Olympics were held in Greece, has since gone on to become one of the most reputed sporting competitions in the world, with more than 20,000 people participating. Some run to win, most run just to be able to say "I did it".

True to the tradition of Olympic sports, the event started out without any prizes except for an Olive wreath. It began as only a local even t, but it's fame and status soon gained the attention of the top runners from around the world. The marathon broke it's tradition of no cash prizes in the 1980s when the professional runners declined to take part if there weren't going to be any rewards for their efforts. Obtaining the money was never going to be a problem since an event with prestige as great as it easily attracts corporate sponsors. The first cash prize was given in the year 1986.

The Boston marathon is open to all runners, male and female, from any nation, but they must meet certain qualifying standards. To qualify, a runner must first complete a standard marathon course certified by a national governing body affiliated with the International Association of Athletics Federations within a certain period of time before the date of the target Boston Marathon (usually within approximately 18 months prior). Prospective runners in the age range of 18-34 must run a time of no more than 3:10:59 (3 hours and 10 minutes) if male, or 3:40:59 (3 hours and 40 minutes) if female; the qualifying time is adjusted upward as age increases. For example, a 40-44 year old male can still qualify with a time of 3:20:59. An exception to the qualification requirement is awarded to 1,250 runners who raise a pre-determined level of sponsorship for officially designated local charities.

Besides the Olympic trials and the Olympic marathons, Boston is the only major American marathon that requires a qualifying time. Thus for many marathoners to qualify for Boston (to "BQ") is a goal and achievement in itself, making it a "people's Olympic event."

The winding course of the Boston Marathon, in conjunction with the four "Newton Hills", makes the Boston Marathon one of the more difficult marathons in the world. The hills are not really that high, but since they come towards the last few miles of the race, the depleted levels of muscle glycogens have a great effect on the runners - termed "hitting the wall" by marathoners. The last of the four Newton Hills is the "Heartbreak Hill". The term originated as a result of an incident during the 1936 version of the race. On this stretch, defending champion John A. Kelley caught race leader Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, giving Brown a consolatory pat on the shoulder as he passed. His competitive drive apparently stoked by this gesture, Tarzan Brown rallied, pulled away from Kelley, and went on to win.

Only thrice has the Boston Marathon seen the World Record broken, which epitomises the greater difficulty of the event. In 1947, the men's record time set was 2:25:39, by Suh Yun-Bok of South Korea. In 1975, a women's world record of 2:42:24 was set by Liane Winter of West Germany, and in 1983, Joan Benoit Samuelson of the United States ran a women's world record time of 2:22:43. The course is now considered invalid for international records because the finish is substantially lower in elevation than the start, and also because the start and finish are too far apart.

A lot of tradition surrounds the event which attracts half a million spectators and over a thousand media personnel. Thousands line the entire course cheering on the runners, providing free water and snacks and encouraging amateurs and first-timers. Wellesley College is located at the 13th mile of the race and the students greet the runners into the "Scream Tunnel". Since 1903, every year the Boston Red Sox played their matches at a time so that as the game ended, the crowd could flow out of Fenway Park and cheer the runners as they entered the final mile at Kenmore Square. The only time when this was not possible was in the year 1943 when the game between the Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels had to be postponed due to rain.

The Boston Marathon is part of the World Marathon Masters that includes, beside the Boston marathon, the London, Berlin, Chicago and New York Marathons. The series, which began in 2006, sees a total prize money of $1 million being split between the top male and female runners. However, the series isn't about the money earned by the runners but the money raised for charity. Annually the five marathons raise a total of $80 million globally, with an economic impact of $800 million.

 

File Image Copyright: Paul Keleher