At the 1908 Olympics in London a Italian baker, an indigenous Canadian and a Irish immigrant to the United States ran the first Olympic Marathon the was officially 26 miles and 385 feet. Prior to this race a marathon was thought of as anything over 15 miles or so. The three men had been running races in the their respective countries and winning but each had something in their backgrounds. One was being managed by an gambler, one wasn't rich enough and the other was running shorter distances. At the finish of the Olympic marathon there was controversy as the first man across the finish line was disqualified for being helped, although he got a special prize. The American, Johnny Hayes, who was awarded the gold medal was all but forgotten in the controversy in of Dorando Pietri's finish. Tom Longboat from Canada finished well back and out of medal contention. After the Olympics the three of them ran match races in all kinds of different combinations. Some of their marathon races were run indoor, which must have been incredibly boring for both the runners and the spectators, not to mention unhealthy as many of the spectators smoked while watching the races.
My review does not do justice to this well written book. If you have any interest in the history of the marathon this is a book you should read.
10/10
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