Summer Olympic Games 1906 Athens games were the first of an alternating series of games to be held in Athens, but the series failed to materialise. The games were more successful than the 1900 and 1904 games, with over 900 athletes competing, and contributed positively to the success of future games. The 1908 London Games saw numbers rise again, as well as the first running of the marathon over its now-standard distance of 42.195 km (26 miles 385 yards). The first Olympic Marathon in 1896 (a male-only race) was raced at a distance of 40 km (24 miles 85 yards). The new marathon
Marathon later recognized by the race organizers as the women's winner for that year, as well as 1967 and 1968. The length of an Olympic marathon was not precisely fixed at first, but the marathon races in the first few Olympic Games were about , roughly the distance from Marathon to Athens by the longer, flatter route. The exact length depended on the route established for each venue. The International Olympic Committee agreed in 1907 that the distance for the 1908 London Olympic marathon would be about 25 miles or 40 kilometres. The organisers decided on a course of 26 miles