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 112TH BOSTON MARATHON
Monday, April 21, 2008
DISTANCE
26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 Kilometers)HISTORY

Boston Marathon is an annual sporting event hosted by Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday of April. (The race has traditionally been held on Patriots’ Day, and until 1969 that was every April 19, whichever day of the week that fell on. Starting in 1969, the holiday was observed on the third Monday in April, and so the marathon date was correspondingly fixed to that Monday.) Started in 1897 and inspired by 1896 Summer Olympics, this is the world’s oldest annual marathon and becomes one of the world’s most well-known road racing events. Today, the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) manages this marathon. professional runners from all over the world compete in the Boston Marathon each year, braving the hilly New England terrain and varying weather to take part in the race. The event have an average of about 20,000 registered participants each year. In the 100th running of the Marathon in 1996, the number of participants reached 38,000. While there are cash prizes awarded to the winners of the marathon, most of the runners participate for the accomplishment of having run the race at all. originally this is a local event, but its fame have attracted runners from all over the world. This was a free event, and the only prize awarded for winning the race was a wreath woven from olive branches. However, from 1986 corporate-sponsored cash prizes began to be awarded, after the refusal of professional athletes to run the without cash awards. Women were allowed in this event after 1972 and Roberta (Bobbi) Gibb is recognized as the first woman to run the entire Boston Marathon (in 1966).

Qualifying

The Boston marathon is open to all runners of any sex and from any nation, but they must meet certain qualifying standards.

1. A runner must first complete a standard marathon course certified by a national governing body affiliated with the International Association of Athletics Federations within a certain period of time before the date of the desired Boston Marathon (usually within approximately 18 months prior).
2. Prospective runners in the age range of 18–34 must run a time of no more than for male 3:10:59 (3 hours and 10 minutes) for female 3:40:59 (3 hours and 40 minutes) the qualifying time is adjusted upward as age increases. An exception to the qualification requirement is awarded to 1,250 runners who raise a pre-determined level of sponsorship for officially designated local charities.

Some routs of this marathon is as under :

The Boston Marathon is considered to be one of the more difficult marathon courses because of the Newton, Massachusetts hills, which culminate in Heartbreak Hill near Boston College. While the three hills on Commonwealth Avenue (Route 30) are better known, a preceding hill on Washington Street (Route 16), climbing from the Charles River crossing at 16 miles, is regarded by Dave McGillivray, the 2007 race director, as the course’s most difficult challenge.[4][5] Coming immediately after a 150 foot drop in half a mile, it has forced many lesser-trained runners to a walk.

All time highest records of this marathon

Current course records, as of 2008, are 2:07:14 and 2:20:43 for men’s open and women’s open, respectively.

Winner of 2007 are as under :

Men’s Open:
Robert K. Cheruiyot (Kenya), 2:14:13
Women’s Open:
Lidiya Grigoryeva (Russia), 2:29:18