Topics in Chronicling America - The Boston Marathon and the Nationwide Marathon Craze

Running through dust, rain, snow and mud, Thomas Longboat pulls ahead of his competitors, easily winning the Boston Marathon in April, 1907, and smashing the current record by more than five minutes despite the terrible weather conditions. In the next few years the marathon craze would move outside of Boston to sweep across the country with races run "in nearly every big city," turning the ancient Greek tradition into an American phenomenon. Read more about it!

The information and sample article links below provide access to a sampling of articles from historic newspapers that can be found in the Chronicling America: American Historic Newspapers digital collection (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/). Use the Suggested Search Terms and Dates to explore this topic further in Chronicling America.

Jump to: Sample Articles

Important Dates:

• April 1897: J.J. McDermott is the winner of the first Boston Marathon, held on Patriots’ Day.
• April 1898: Ronald J. McDonald is the winner of the second Boston Marathon.
• April 1907: Thomas Longboat is the first Native American to win the Boston Marathon.
• 1908-1909: Success of the Boston Marathon sparks a nationwide interest in marathon running. .

Suggested Search Strategies:

• [Try the following terms in combination, proximity, or as phrases using Search Pages in Chronicling America.] Boston foot race, Marathon run, American marathon, foot race, road race.

Sample Articles from Chronicling America:

• "Twenty-Five Mile Road Race," Omaha Daily Bee (Omaha, NE), April 20, 1897, Page 7, Image 7, col. 5.
• "Games of Greece," St. Paul Daily Globe (St. Paul, MN), April 20, 1897, Page 7, Image 7, col. 1.
• "The Marathon Games," Salt Lake Herald (Salt Lake City, UT), April 20, 1897, Image 2, col.5.
• "Marathon Race Decided," San Francisco Call (San Francisco, CA), April 20, 1898, Page 5, Image 6, col. 1.
• "How Thomas Longboat Broke Marathon Record," Times Dispatch (Richmond, VA), April 28, 1907, Sporting Section, Image 28, Page 4, col. 5-6.
• "Yonkers Boy Won Marathon in Time Close to Record," Evening World (New York, NY), April 20, 1908, Image 1, col. 2.
• "The Running Game is Good Again," Evening World (New York, NY), November 28, 1908, Final Results Section, Image 6, Page 6, col.1-8.
• "Untrained Man Wins Marathon, Breaks Record," Los Angeles Herald (Los Angeles, CA), January 2, 1909, Page 7, Image, col. 1.
• "Clark Wins Marathon; Thousands Line the Full Course," New York Tribune ( New York, NY) , February 13, 1909, Image 1, col.4.
• "Marathoning Still the Craze," Morning examiner (Ogden, UT), March 9, 1909, Image 10, col. 1-4.
• "The Marathon is Popular Race Fad," Washington Herald (Washington, DC), May 2, 1909, Page 4, Image 44, col.1.
• "Modern Marathons," Los Angeles Herald (Los Angeles, CA), May 8, 1909, Image 4, col. 7.
• "How Famous Marathon Race Originated from Battle Victory," Evening Bulletin (Honolulu, HI), May 15, 1909, Page 10, Image 10, col.1-4.
• "List for Marathon Numbers Now 65," Washington Times (Washington, DC), June 1, 1909, Page 12, Image 12, col. 5-6.
• "Emory B. Ensor, Washington, Wins Intercity Marathon," Washington Times (Washington, DC), June 12, 1909, Image 1, col. 1-5.