On This Day in Sports: April 19, 1897
On April 19, 1897, fifteen runners started a 24.5-mile road race from Ashland to Boston in the first edition of what became the Boston Marathon. The event was inspired by the marathon at the 1896 Olympic Games and organized by the Boston Athletic Association. Ten runners finished, each navigating rough roads without the support systems modern racers expect.
John J. McDermott of New York emerged as the winner in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds. He had also won an early American marathon the previous autumn, making him a natural contender. McDermott broke away from Harvard runner Dick Grant late in the course and reached the finish near the Irvington Oval with a decisive advantage.
The race was held on Patriots’ Day, linking endurance sport to a regional holiday. Spectators followed portions by bicycle, carriage and train, while officials improvised logistics along the route. The field was small, but the idea proved durable: a city-to-city footrace that demanded strategy, resilience and an intimate confrontation with distance.
Boston evolved into the world’s oldest annual marathon and one of running’s most coveted events. The course length later changed to the standard 26.2 miles, and participation grew into the tens of thousands. Every modern edition traces back to McDermott and fourteen other starters setting off from Ashland, testing whether an Olympic experiment could become an American tradition.
Fifteen runners started the first race.
Ten competitors reached the finish.
The original course measured about 24.5 miles.
John J. McDermott won in 2:55:10.
The route began in Ashland.
Boston became the oldest annual marathon.
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