Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon Alexandra the next day awarded him a gold or silver-gilt cup in recognition of his achievement. Pietri and Hayes both turned professional and there were several re-matches over the distance of 26 miles 385 yards. Many other marathons adopted that distance, including the important Polytechnic Marathon. The IAAF minutes are reportedly silent as to the reason the 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km) was chosen in 1921, so any conclusion must be speculative, but regardless of any possible emotional attachment to the distance of the "race of the century", the London 1908 distance had established itself worldwide by that time.
Monumental Marathon Just over 1,100 runners completed the inaugural running of the race, while almost 2,000 completed the race the following year. The Monumental Half Marathon is run concurrently to the full marathon. The two races follow identical routes for the first six or so miles, split, then re-converge for the last three miles of the course. Nearly 3,000 runners completed the half marathon in 2009. Beginning in 2010, a 5k race was offered as well. "A beautiful place to set your pace" is the tagline of the Monumental Marathon. The course for the Monumental Marathon begins and ends near the Indiana