Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon view of the final yards, the direction of running was changed to "right-hand inside" (i.e. clockwise). This meant the distance in the stadium was shortened to , and the total distance became officially "about 26 miles plus 385 yards on the track". A modified version of the Polytechnic Harriers' April 1908 map was issued in June 1908 incorporating the changed ending and omitting the "Long Walk" start used for the Trial Marathon. This was published in the newspapers and in the official programme for the games. This distance (ignoring the word "about" in the phrase "about 26 miles plus 385
Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon (in hours) prior to the 1908 Summer Olympics. "(*)" distance 40.0 km "(**)" distance 41.86 km Johnny Hayes set a new Olympic record with 2:55:18.4 hours. 27 runners finished the marathon legally, though Dorando Pietri's (disqualified) performance was perhaps the most applauded; his finishing time was 2:54:46.4 hours, half a minute ahead of the winner. The dramatic finish of the 1908 Olympic marathon led to worldwide marathon fever. In a postcard sent at the time, an American spectator said he had "just seen the greatest race of the century." Since Pietri himself had not been responsible for his disqualification Queen