Clarence DeMar DeMar did not return to serious competition until 1922, when he again won the Boston marathon in a course record 2:18:10. He repeated the victory in 1923 and 1924. In the latter year the full Olympic distance – 26 miles, 385 yards – was run. He was selected as one of the six runners on the U.S Olympic marathon team for the 1924 Summer Olympics, where he finished third. DeMar continued his success with a second-place finish at the 1925 Boston marathon, and a third-place finish the next year. He followed that with five consecutive marathon victories: at the Baltimore
Johnny Miles boots. In 1926 Miles's neighbours raised a few hundred dollars to send him to the Boston Marathon by train. This would be Miles's debut marathon, having never run a race longer than 10 miles. The field at the 1926 Boston Marathon included four-time winner Clarence DeMar and 1924 Olympic champion Albin Stenroos, whom Miles idolized. Miles arrived at the marathon as an unknown, competing in a handmade singlet adorned with a maple leaf and the letters "NS" for Nova Scotia and a pair of 98-cent sneakers. Stenroos attempted to break away after the first few miles, leaving DeMar behind. Miles