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.
Bangkok Marathon miles) to 27.6 km (17.1 miles). According to organisers, the increase was due to the race officials directing runners to take a turn at the wrong place which added over 3 km extra to each of the two laps. The mistake sparked humour and outcry in the social and news media. "The Guardian" called it "world's longest half marathon". Some comments on social media called it a "Super Half Marathon", while some called it a byproduct of "race inflation". Organizers apologized for the mistake and decided to offer a T-shirt saying "Finisher of 27.6 km" to participants who completed the