More Boston Marathon Facts for Stacie’s Run:
The race starts at 10am this morning.
The marathon capped at 25,000 runners from every state in the nation and 50 countries. The race record is 38,708 during their 100th anniversary year.
Over half a million spectators expected to line the course – that’s a lot of cheering!
The Boston Marathon is the second biggest single day sporting coverage behind the Super Bowl.
In 1975, Boston became the first marathon to include a Wheelchair Division.
Last year, the top three elite women’s runners were separated by on nine hundredths of a second at the finish line.
In 2007, Boston initiated a wave start with the first wave starting at 10am then the second 30 minutes later.
1972 was the year women were allowed to enter the race.
Heartbreak Hill is called that because in 1936, on this hill defending champ John Kelley caught race leader Ellison Brown, giving him a pat on the shoulder as he passed. This lit a fire in Brown who then passed Kelley and win effectively “breaking his heart.”
Most runners know Heartbreak Hill for it’s testing of runners who “hit the wall” on the hills of Newtown and this is the last climb at miles 20 and 21. 88 foot vertical climb. So muscle stores of glycogen are likely depleted at this point.
Beautiful day for a race, think of all the runners at 10am this morning as they run the “race of their life.”
Makes me want to run faster to try and qualify, or at least go up there and cheer on some runners!!! Thanks for the fun facts!
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