Polytechnic Marathon City Stadium in front of the Royal Box, a distance that turned out to be 26 miles, 385 yards. There was immense public interest in the 1908 Olympic race, with its dramatic finish in which Dorando Pietri of Italy entered the stadium well clear of the field and staggered around the last lap to the finish line—only to be disqualified for receiving assistance. Building on this interest, "The Sporting Life" newspaper offered a magnificent trophy for an annual international marathon that would be second in importance only to the Olympic event itself. The Polytechnic Harriers were again asked to organise
St. Michaels Half Marathon St. Michaels Half Marathon The St. Michaels Half Marathon is an annual half marathon road race. The race is competed at the amateur level. Although the event does not have a title sponsor, Nationwide is considered the primary sponsor. The race is organized by the St. Michaels Running Festival, which also hosts a 10000 and 5000 m. The Festival attracted over 1,500 runners in its opening year, and approximately 3,000 in its second edition. St. Michaels Half Marathon is a USATF certified course, measuring exactly 13.1 miles. The course is relatively flat, with grades varying between +4% to -4%, while