Why a Marathon Is 26.2 Miles
The official distance was set in 1908 so that the British royal family could watch the start from a Windsor Castle window.
The marathon's odd 26 miles 385 yards is not borrowed from antiquity. The Greek courier Pheidippides — who, in Herodotus, ran from Athens to Sparta and back, a much longer distance — has nothing to do with the number. That figure was fixed by a piece of British royal convenience in the summer of 1908.
Organizers of the London Olympics that year planned a roughly 26-mile race from Windsor to the Olympic stadium at White City. Princess Mary asked that the start be moved onto the East Lawn of Windsor Castle so the royal nursery could watch from a window. The finish line at the stadium was placed in front of the royal box. The total, once the route was measured, came to 26 miles and 385 yards.
The number stuck for a strange reason. Italian runner Dorando Pietri staggered into the stadium first, collapsed several times on the track, and was helped across the line by officials. He was disqualified, and the public outcry made the 1908 race the most famous marathon ever run. The IAAF formalized the distance in 1921, and every marathon since has run the British royal family's commute.
It is a small piece of historical accident now embedded in the training plans of millions. A runner in Berlin or Boston is, technically, finishing in front of a royal box that no longer exists.
If the children at Windsor had been napping that day, marathoners might have a rounder, kinder number to chase.
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