The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon and is one of the world’s best-known road racing events. It is an annual event that is always held on Patriot’s Day, the third Monday in April. The Boston Marathon first started in 1897 and was inspired by the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics.
Amateur and professional runners from around the world compete in the Boston Marathon each year. The event is New England’s most widely viewed sport and attracts 500,000 spectators each year. In 1996, during the Centennial Boston Marathon, they established a record as the world’s largest marathon with 36,748 starters and 35,868 finishers.
Women were not allowed to enter the Boston Marathon until 1972. In 1966, Roberta “Bobbi” Gibb became the first woman to run the entire event. She had to disguise herself by wearing her brother’s Bermuda shorts and hooded sweat shirt over a black tank-topped swimsuit. Bobbi hid in the bushes until the starting gun was fired. At that point, she jumped into the race. The men running in the event soon realized she was a woman. Encouraged by their friendliness and support, she pulled off her sweatshirt. The crowds cheered when they saw a woman running – the gender barrier had been broken. Bobbi finished ahead of two-thirds of the pack. She came back to win two more times. Today, over 40 percent of the runners are women.
Ernst van Dyk, of South Africa, holds the record for most wins with 9 victories and he did that in a wheelchair! Clarence DeMar, of the U.S., has the most wins in the men’s division with 7 victories. Catherine Ndereba, of Kenya, tops the women’s division with 4 wins.
The fastest marathon (2:02:03) was run in 2011 by Kenya’s Geffrey Mutai. Magaret Okayo, also of Kenya, set the women’s record in 2002 (2:20:43).
