What do you think of this fact?
26.2 miles, or 42.195 kilometers. An absurdly specific number for one of the most famous races in the world. Why not just 26 miles, or 40 kilometers? The answer lies in London in 1908, and it involves a castle and a royal box.
It started at about 40 kilometers
The marathon goes back to a Greek legend: a messenger is said to have run from Marathon to Athens to announce a victory. When the modern Olympic Games began in Athens in 1896, organizers set the course at about 40 kilometers. There was no fixed standard after that.
From Windsor to the royal box
At the 1908 Games in London, the marathon started at Windsor Castle and finished in the Olympic stadium. According to World Athletics, the course was first set at 26 miles and then extended by another 385 yards. The reason, in the best-known version: the start was moved back so the royal children could watch it from the nursery window at the castle.
Put together, that makes 26 miles and 385 yards, or exactly 42.195 kilometers. The official 1908 report notes that the last 385 yards were run on the cinder track inside the stadium, finishing right below the royal box.
According to Boston.com, Princess Mary started the 1908 race at Windsor, and it was meant to finish in front of Queen Alexandra in the stadium.
The story has a catch
Whether the royals actually asked for it is disputed. According to Boston.com, Olympic historian Bob Wilcox called the nursery version a myth, because no evidence for it turned up in the royal archives. The only certain thing: the 1908 course was exactly that long.
And that exact length is what the international athletics federation made the official standard in 1921. Since then, every marathon on the planet measures 26.2 miles, whether it’s in Berlin, New York or Tokyo.
So the last 385 yards that everyone curses are a souvenir of one London course map from 1908.