Dorando Pietri
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One race above all came to define Going the distance the marathon, claims Hugh Jones A hundred years ago, on 24 July 1908, a race was run that led to the intact today (compare the photo marathon becoming a fixed length of 26 miles and 385 yards, or 42,195m. bottom left with the cover picture) Up until that time – marathons had only been around for 12 years – the and the documentation from the distance had been based on that between Marathon and Athens, about time describes some of the mile 40km, but not stated in any definite terms. points with precision. One mile marker, the first, which says “25 The marathon race in the 1908 Olympic Games in London changed all miles to the stadium” is fixed to the that. It unfolded with such drama and so many further consequences wall of a house in Eton. The that the distance almost haphazardly arrived at in that race became the starting position is only defined as AT THE 1 MILE MARK standard. It was immediately adopted for re-matches between the same “700 yards from the Queen leading players over the next few years – to settle bets on the outcome - Victoria Statue” and assuming that miles from the start to the stadium and when the amateur authorities that governed the sport came to this was indeed so, modern and another 385 yards on the track make a ruling 16 years later, they could not ignore what had become measurement indicates that this first inside the stadium is what fixed the lodged in the public mind as the defining moment of the event. mile could be 30m short. The next distance for all the later re-matches two miles of the course measured a between the Olympic protagonists total of 14m short. Dorando Pietri, Johnny Hayes and Tom Longboat, and eventually led The Course Whatever the actual length of the to the standardisation of the course the belief that it was 26 marathon distance. The Race The course was modelled on the terrace of the historic Castle, in Marathon original – run to the which event the distance will be capital city from a place of about 26 miles to the edge of the historical significance. The main stadium track”. mover of the London Olympics, the The race started at 14.33 from the English runners, Lord and Price, led polymath Lord Desborough, Previous Olympic organisers had East Lawn of Windsor Castle, until 10 miles, at which point Price immediately saw that proposing named a distance from the start of adjacent to a memorial to Queen went ahead. Hefferon and Pietri Windsor Castle as the starting point the marathon to the stadium, and Victoria’s favourite dog, Dako, and trailed by around 20 seconds. Price could perhaps engage the King’s left detailed finish arrangements to with few but royalty and officials in built up a 40-second lead within the direct interest and support. The the team organising the events on attendance. The field of 56 runners next two miles, but lost it in the finish would be at the newly-built the track. This arrangement was from 16 countries were lined up on next three and at 15 miles he “sat stadium at White City - the unchanged in London, where the the narrow path with Pietri near the down, leaving Hefferon with the centrepiece of the Franco-British distance from the stadium entrance back. Even so, he emerged through lead”. Lord trailed off while Tom Exhibition which ran for most of to the finish line under the Royal the gate onto Castle Hill, after Longboat overtook Pietri before 16 the summer of 1908. box was 385 yards when run about 500m, in fifth place, miles, but then also faltered. By 19 clockwise around the 586.6 yard according to the report in The miles Pietri was back in second, What was to happen in between track (three laps to a mile). Times . They swept down the hill three minutes behind a now tiring these points was handed over to Running clockwise was fairly and over the River Thames into Hefferon. Jack Andrew, secretary of the common practice at the time. Eton, with the first mile being Polytechnic Harriers Athletic Club. timed at 5:01 (3.07/km). The man On the “dusty road” between Several trial races were held to It can only be taken on trust that setting this torrid pace, the Scottish Harrow and Harlesden Hefferon select the team, but the most the stated distance was correct. The champion Jack, slowed over the clung on tenaciously as Pietri significant of these was from 1908 route remains very much succeeding miles (5:10; 5:31; 5:36; gradually eroded his lead. At 23 Windsor to Wembley, over slightly 6:00) but led the race for five miles miles he was still 2:28 ahead, but less than 23 miles, of which 0.5-21 (8km) after which he “dropped to a just past 24 miles he dropped to a miles was on the eventual Olympic walk”. Many of the runners seemed walk, and Pietri passed him. Johnny route. unfamiliar with the advantages of Hayes, of the USA, had been in holding to a steady pace, and third place from 21 miles, and A year before the Games the race followed Jack’s lead. Charles lagged Pietri by about five minutes. distance had been announced as 25 Hefferon of South Africa and the Pietri’s pace was down to eight miles but changes were made to the Englishmen Duncan and Lord were minute miles, but his 26th mile was finishing section as it approached only 10 seconds down on Jack at reported by The Times as taking 13 the city to avoid cobbles and four miles and six seconds behind tramlines. The route fixed upon by at five miles. IN THE 26TH MILE WITH Andrew, arcing north through a WORMWOOD SCRUBS series of villages on its eastward To be selected the English runners PRISON BEHIND trajectory towards the capital, had all run trial races over courses turned out to be nearer to 26 miles. which varied in length from According to the race programme between 18 to 24 miles - long the start location depended upon enough to demonstrate the the hope, which was realised, “that advantages of careful pacing. All the King will graciously consent to that was thrown to the wind in the the start being made from the mad charge out of Windsor. Two © Nathan Jones 1 Distance Running Month – Month 2008 minutes. Hayes would have been picked up finished with so strong a closing down on him quickly even sprint that had he been left alone he before Pietri turned into the would in all probability have passageway leading to the stadium - accomplished the necessary half-lap and collapsed. unaided and still have just won.” most of them dropped out soon saw Pietri draw gradually away Regaining his feet, he then started Pietri was first announced as the afterwards, but Pietri kept going to from Hayes in the final mile of the around the track in the wrong winner but the race was awarded to the end, finishing just ahead of the race to win by half a lap in 2:44:21 (anticlockwise) direction. In the Hayes after a protest by the putative champion. A serious - 11 minutes faster than the confusion of correcting this mistake American team managers. Princess cycling crash in 1904 may have also Olympic winning time. he fell again. As he struggled Alexandra, who had been on her helped determine him to switch around the track, surrounded by an feet with the rest of the crowd as disciplines to long-distance running, Only three weeks later Pietri ran entourage of officials, Hayes they willed Pietri around the track, and he quickly established himself against Tom Longboat, in the same entered the stadium when Pietri was awarded a cup to him the next day with an Italian half hour record. arena but collapsed with the effort about 100m from the tape. Pietri for what Lord Desborough Next year he won a 30km race in of attempting to match the fell again only 30m from the line, described as “being practically, if Paris. Canadian’s pace over the last mile. but according to The Times “when not de facto , the winner.” The drama further increased public He went on to compete in the interest, and after another three “Intermediate” Olympic Games weeks the pair met again in Buffalo, held in Athens in 1906, but after a where Pietri ran himself into the Dorando Pietri bout of seasickness on the short ground with too fast a pace, and voyage to Greece he suffered retired at 19 miles. The madcap stomach pains before and during schedule continued with further the race. At first the pains held off, races after another week, then and Pietri built up a five-minute another 11 days, both of which he lead in the first 10 miles. The pains won against nondescript then returned and he dropped out opposition. at 24km. Shamed by the experience, it was only a year later that Pietri He met Hayes twice more, in April regained form but even then it 1909, when they were both beaten eluded him in the longer distances by Henri Saint-Yves, and January right up until his solo run 1910, when Pietri won in the final practically on the eve of departure 100m sprint-out. Marathon mania for the Games. receded in 1910 and by that time Pietri’s health showed signs of The “assistance” Pietri had received deterioration.