Interesting Facts about the Boston Marathon

Found these facts from a variety of sites. Click on any of the links to read more.

The Boston Marathon is the only mass-participation marathon that requires qualifying times.

Read more: http://www.marathonguide.com/races/bostonmarathonqualifyingraces.cfm

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Overall, only 10.4 percent of marathon finishers achieve a Boston qualifying time.

But more people qualify in some age groups than in others:

women 34 and younger = 7.9%

women aged 45 to 49 = 14.5%

men aged 65 to 69 = 17%

Read more: http://www.runnersworld.com/boston-marathon/all-timing?page=single

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The field consists of over 27,000 runners, representing athletes from every state in the nation and over 90 countries. The race record was 38,708 for the 100th anniversary in 1996. 

Well over a half-million spectators line the course.

The Boston Marathon, organized by the Boston Athletic Association, takes place on the third Monday in April, also known as Patriot's Day, which is a holiday (in Maine and Massachusetts) that commemorates the famous battles of Lexington and Concord.

In terms of media coverage, the Boston Marathon is the second biggest single-day sporting event in the U.S., just behind the Super Bowl
Read more: The Boston Marathon Fact Sheet | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marathon.html#ixzz2W6Z4CKcU

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The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), established in 1887, is among the nation's oldest athletic clubs. The Olympic Games provided the inspiration for the first Boston Marathon, which culminated the B.A.A. Games on April 19, 1897. John J. McDermott emerged from a 15-member starting field to complete the course (then 24.5 miles) in a winning time of 2:55:10. The Boston Marathon has since become the world's oldest annually contested marathon.

Read more: http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/boston-marathon-history/boston-marathon-facts.aspx

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Women were not allowed to race officially until 1972, but in 1966 Roberta Gibb became the first woman to win Boston unofficially.

The first international winner was Ronald MacDonald, a Canadian student at Boston College, in 1898. Proud to be Canadian!

Read more: http://www.robbcohen.com/blog/?p=1329