The oldest footrace in the United States was first held on Patriots’ Day, April 19, 1897. Organized by members of the Boston Athletic Association, the race involved only 15 runners. Nowadays the Boston Marathon draws anywhere from 7,000 to more than 9,000 official starters. The 26.2-mile course begins exactly at noon in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, includes the infamous “Heartbreak Hill” (a section of Commonwealth Avenue in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, that marks the race’s 21st mile), and ends near Copley Square in the Back Bay Area. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary