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
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