Polytechnic Marathon the event, and the Polytechnic Marathon was born. The first Polytechnic Marathon was held on 8 May 1909. Henry Barrett won, followed by Fred Lord, and Harry Green. As with the Olympic race, the start was at Windsor Castle and the course was 26 miles, 385 yards; this distance was adopted as the international standard for marathons in 1924. (The older Boston Marathon, founded in 1897, adopted the distance in 1924, but was slightly short for the first three years and was shorter still from 1951 to 1956.) Over the years, the route of the Poly Marathon varied. From 1909
Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon Olympic Association that the 1908 Olympics would include a marathon of about 25 miles or 40 kilometres. The British Olympic Council handed responsibility for organising the Marathon to the Amateur Athletic Association, but they had no experience at organising a road race of such a length. In late 1907, an offer was made by Jack Andrew honorary secretary of the Polytechnic Harriers to take over the task. This was accepted in February 1908, though already, in November 1907, a route of "about 25 to 26 miles in distance" had been published in the newspapers, starting at Windsor Castle and finishing