Kim Merritt ran at the inaugural Cleveland Marathon the following month, where she finished second after Jacqueline Hansen. Her next race over the 26 miles and 385 yards distance came at the Oregon Track Club race and she finished sixth while the winner Julie Brown set the fastest time of the year. Merritt's final run of the year came at a race on home turf in New Glarus, Wisconsin, which she won in 2:53:53. Her final year of competition at the top level was in 1979. She ran at the Boston Marathon and came in sixth place, although she was ten minutes
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