Good Luck in Boston!

I just wanted to give a shout out to all those racers who will be running the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 19th.  Good Luck!!!

So in the spirit of things I thought I'd post some trivia on the Boston Marathon.  Enjoy!

~ The Boston Marathon course is 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 kilometers)

~ About 25,000 runners compete in the Boston Marathon

~ Runners begin the Boston Marathon in two waves, beginning 30 minutes apart

~ The total prize money package for the Boston Marathon is $806,000


~ The winners of the Men and Women Open Division Winners each receive $150,000

 

~ Prize money was first awarded at the Boston Marathon in 1986

 

~ Since 1969 the Boston Marathon has always been run on Patriots' Day, the third Monday in April

 

~ About 500,000 spectators line the marathon route each year

 

~ Wheelchair athletes Ernst Van Dyk and Jean Driscoll hold the most Boston Marathon victories (8)

 

~ Johnny Kelley started a record 61 Boston Marathons, won twice and finished the race 58 times

 

~There were only 15 runners to start the first Boston Marathon in 1897

John J. McDermott won the first Boston Marathon in 1897 in a time of 2:55:10

 

~ Greg Meyer was the last American Man to win the Boston Marathon (1983)

 

~ Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach was the last American woman to win the Boston Marathon (1985)

 

~ 1966: Roberta Gibb became first woman to unofficially run the Boston Marathon

 

~ 1967: Katherine Switzer became first woman to receive official number, by using her initials to register

 

~ 1972: Women were first allowed to officially enter the Boston Marathon

 

~ In 2004 the Elite Women runners were given a separate, earlier start time from the main field

 

~ The largest field of runners was for the 100th Boston Marathon in 1996, when 36,748 runners started the marathon

 

~ Clarence DeMar was the oldest winner of the Boston Marathon at age 41 (1930)

 

~ 18 year-old Tim Ford was the youngest winner in Boston Marathon history (1906)

 

~ 173-pound Lawrence Brignolia is the heaviest runner ever to win the Boston Marathon

 

~ 1975: Boston became the first marathon to include a wheelchair division

 

~ 1936: Boston Globe reporter Jerry Nason nicknamed "Heartbreak Hill" in Newton

 

~ Twice in Boston Marathon history, just 1 second has separated the top two finishers. In 2009 Salina Kosgei edged out Dire Tune. In 1988 Ibrahim Hussein finished 1 second ahead of Juma Ikangaa.

 

~ Robert Cheruyiot, Clarence DeMar, Bill Rodgers & Cosmos Ndeti are the only champions to win the open division three consecutive years

 

~ In 1961 the racers faced 38-degree temperatures and snow squalls along the course

 

~ Water and Gatorade are provided every mile of the course. PowerGel is available at mile 17

 

~ 11,300 pounds of pasta and 2,825 quarts of tomato sauce are cooked for the official pre-race dinner

Facts from http://wbztv.com/bostonmarathon/2.572231.html