Polytechnic Marathon Polytechnic Marathon The Polytechnic Marathon, often called the Poly, was a marathon held annually between 1909 and 1996, over various courses in or near London. It was the first marathon to be run regularly over the distance of 26 miles, 385 yards which is now the global standard. A total of eight world marathon bests were set in the Poly, including the first authenticated time under 2 hours, 20 minutes which had been regarded as the marathon equivalent of the four-minute mile. At the time of its demise in 1996, the Poly was Europe's oldest regular marathon. It had seen
Bangkok Marathon course passes many historical landmarks of cultural and ethnic importance. The marathon starts and finishes in front of The Royal Grand Palace at Sanam Chai Road. The race course is sanctioned by The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) and the Amateur Athletic Association of Thailand (IAAF Rules). In 2013, the course of the half marathon was changed at the last minute because of concurrent Bangkok street protests which reduced the distance of the half marathon from 21.1 km (13.1 miles) to 19.7 km (12.2 miles). In 2015, the half marathon was accidentally extended from 21.1 km (13.1