The Polytechnic Marathon, often called the Poly, was a marathon held annually between 1909 and 1996, over various courses in or near London. It was the first marathon to be run regularly over the distance of 26 miles, 385 yards which is now the global standard. A total of eight world marathon bests were set in the Poly, including the first authenticated time under 2 hours, 20 minutes which had been regarded as the marathon equivalent of the four-minute mile. At the time of its demise in 1996, the Poly was Europe's oldest regular marathon. It had seen more world records and had been run over more often than any other marathon.
Origin The Polytechnic Marathon had its origins in the marathon of the 1908 Summer Olympics, held in London. This race was organised by the Polytechnic Harriers, the athletics club of the London Polytechnic at Regent Street (now the University of Westminster). In those days, there was no set distance for the marathon; it was simply a long race, around in length. The Polytechnic Harriers decided to start the Olympic marathon in front of the Royal apartments at Windsor Castle and end it on the track at White 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 the event, and the Polytechnic Marathon was born.
Early races The first Polytechnic Marathon was held on 8 May 1909. Henry Barrett won, followed by Fred Lord, and Harry Green.
As with the Olympic race, the start was at Windsor Castle and the course was 26 miles, 385 yards; this distance was adopted as the international standard for marathons in 1924. (The older Boston Marathon, founded in 1897, adopted the distance in 1924, but was slightly short for the first three years and was shorter still from 1951 to 1956.)
Over the years, the route of the Poly Marathon varied. From 1909 until 1932, it ended at Stamford Bridge in west London; then in 1933, it moved back to the White City stadium, where the 1908 Olympic marathon had finished. From 1938, the race ended at the new Polytechnic Harriers stadium in Chiswick, west London. It was on this course that Jim Peters, the greatest marathoner of his day, broke the 2 hours and 20 minutes barrier in 1953. Even more remarkably, remeasurement showed the course to have been about 150 yards too long.
In 1961, The Sporting Life withdrew its sponsorship, having ceased to report on athletics. A new sponsor was found in the form of confectionery company Callard and Bowser; and in the next few years, the race went from strength to strength, with a succession of world records (see table).
Decline and fall By 1970, the Polytechnic Harriers and the Poly Marathon were in decline. Traffic problems made it difficult to continue with the Windsor-to-Chiswick route, and from 1973 until 1992, the race was restricted to the Windsor area. Performances declined, and so did the status of the Poly Marathon. With the introduction of mass marathons and big-money events elsewhere, the Poly Marathon could not compete.
There were organizational changes, too. In 1985, the Polytechnic Harriers merged with Kingston AC and moved in with them at Kingsmeadow Stadium in Kingston, Surrey. Some ex-Polytechnic Harriers remained at the Polytechnic sports ground in Hartington Road, Chiswick, where they formed a new club—West 4 Harriers—which was to become involved with the Polytechnic Marathon some years later.
Management of the race passed to the London Road Runners Club (LRRC) for 1986 and 1987, but the LRRC then folded. After a four-year gap, the race was revived in 1992 by Capital Road Runners (an even shorter-lived successor to LRRC) in conjunction with West 4 Harriers. A revised route was introduced, from Windsor to the Polytechnic stadium at Chiswick, recalling the event's former glory days.
From 1993 to 1995, the Poly Marathon was organised by a group from West 4 Harriers. In 1996, responsibility passed to a commercial events organiser, but increased traffic and other difficulties made it impossible to keep the race going beyond 1996.
World records World records set in the Polytechnic Marathon.The Polytechnic Marathon 1909–1996 by Ian Ridpath
Date Athlete Time 1909 May 8 (see note 1) Henry Barrett (GBR) 2:42:31.0 1913 May 31 Alexis Ahlgren (SWE) 2:36:06.6 1952 June 14 Jim Peters (GBR) 2:20:42.2 1953 June 13 Jim Peters (GBR) 2:18:40.2 (see note 2) 1954 June 26 Jim Peters (GBR ) 2:17:39.4 1963 June 15 Leonard "Buddy" Edelen (USA) 2:14:28 1964 June 13 Basil Heatley (GBR) 2:13:55.0 1965 June 12 Morio Shigematsu (JPN) 2:12:00.0
Note 1: Date wrongly given as 26 May in some sources. Note 2: Distance measured as 42.337 km.
Past winners Men YearWinnerClubTimeNotes1909 Henry Barrett Polytechnic Harriers 2.42.31WR1910 No race owing to the death of HM The King1911 Harry Green Herne Hill Harriers 2.46.29 & 4/5ths 1912 Jim Corkery Canada 2.36.55 & 2/5ths 1913 Alexis Ahlgren Sweden 2.36.06 & 3/5ths WR1914 Ahmed Djebellia France 2.46.30 & 4/5ths 1915-1918 No races during World War I1919 Edward Woolston Machine Gun Corps 2.52.30 & 1/5th 1920 Bobby Mills Leicester H 2.37.40 & 2/5ths 1921 Bobby Mills Leicester H 2.51.00 & 2/5ths 1922 Bobby Mills Leicester H 2.47.30 & 2/5ths 1923 Axel Jensen Denmark 2.40.46 & 4/5ths 1924 Dunky Wright Scotland 2.53.17 & 2/5ths 1925 Sam Ferris Royal Air Force 2.35.58 & 1/5th 1926 Sam Ferris Royal Air Force 2.42.24 & 1/5th 1927 Sam Ferris Royal Air Force 2.40.32 & 1/5th 1928 Sam Ferris Royal Air Force 2.41.02 & 1/5th 1929 Sam Ferris Royal Air Force 2.40.47 & 2/5ths 1930 Stan Smith Birchfield Harriers 2.41.55 1931 Sam Ferris Royal Air Force 2.35.31 & 4/5ths 1932 Sam Ferris Royal Air Force 2.36.32 & 2/5ths 1933 Sam Ferris Royal Air Force 2.42.24 1934 Dunky Wright Scotland 2.56.30 1935 Bert Norris Polytechnic Harriers 2.48.37 1936 Bert Norris Polytechnic Harriers 2.35.20 1937 Bert Norris Polytechnic Harriers 2.48.40 1938 Henri Palme Sweden 2.42.00 1939 Henri Palme Sweden 2.36.56 1940 Leslie Griffiths Herne Hill Harriers 2.53.41 1941 Gerry Humphreys Woodford Green AC 3.12.36 1942 Leslie Griffiths Reading AC 2.53.56 1943 Leslie Griffiths Reading AC 2.53.14 1944 Tom Richards Mitcham AC 2.48.45 1945 Tom Richards Mitcham AC 2.56.39 1946 Harry Oliver Reading AC 2.38.12 1947 Cecil Ballard Surrey AC 2.36.52 1948 Jack Holden Tipton Harriers 2.36.44 1949 Jack Holden Tipton Harriers 2.42.52 1950 Jack Holden Tipton Harriers 2.33.07 1951 Jim Peters Essex Beagles 2.29.24 1952 Jim Peters Essex Beagles 2.20.42 WR1953 Jim Peters Essex Beagles 2.18.40 WR1954 Jim Peters Essex Beagles 2.17.39 WR1955 Bill McMinnis Royal Air Force 2.36.23 1956 Ron Clark Herne Hill Harriers 2.20.16 1957 Eddie Kirkup Rotherham H 2.37.04.4 1958 Colin Kemball Wolverhampton H 2.22.27 1959 Denis O'Gorman St Albans AC 2.25.11 1960 Arthur Keily Derby & County AC 2.19.06 1961 Peter Wilkinson Derby & County AC 2.20.25 1962 Ron Hill Bolton United AC 2.20.59 1963 Buddy Edelen Hadleigh Olympiads AC & USA 2.14.28WR 1964 Basil Heatley Coventry Godiva Harriers 2.13.55 WR1965 Morio Shigematsu Japan 2.12.00 WR1966 Graham Taylor Cambridge Harriers 2.19.04 1967 Fergus Murray Oxford University AC 2.19.06 1968 Kenji Kimihara Japan 2.15.15 1969 Phil Hampton Royal Navy AC South 2.25.22 1970 Don Faircloth Croydon Harriers 2.18.15 1971 Phil Hampton Royal Navy AC South 2.18.31 1972 Don Faircloth Croydon Harriers 2.31.52 1973 Robert Sercombe Newport H 2.19.48 1974 Akio Usami Japan 2.15.16 No race in 19751976 Bernie Plain Cardiff AAC 2.15.43 1977 Ian Thompson Luton AC 2.14.32 1978 David Francis Westbury H 2.19.05 1979 Mike Gratton Invicta AC 2.19.53 1980 Tony Byrne Salford Harriers 2.22.23 1981 Bernie Plain Cardiff AAC 2.24.07 1982 Graham Ellis Holmfirth H 2.23.28 1983 Alan McGee Southampton & Eastleigh AAC 2.22.55 1984 David Catlow Cheltenham H 2.26.02 1985 Terry Donaghy London Road Runners 2.33.02 1986 Hugh Jones Ranelagh H 2.26.11 1987 Mick McGeoch Les Croupiers 2.28.49 No races from 1988 to 19911992 Hugh Jones Ranelagh H 2.22.58 1993 Jonathan Hooper Bridgend AC 2.25.55 1994 Chris Buckley Westbury H 2.21.57 1995 Valery Zolotkov Russia 2.20.46 1996 Marc Verrdytt Belgium 2.23.43
Women YearWinnerClubTimeNotes1978 Gillian AdamsAldershot, Farnham & District AC2.54.111979 Jane DaviesEpsom & Ewell H 3.21.231980 Gillian AdamsAldershot, Farnham & District AC2.45.111981 Caroline RodgersHighgate Harriers2.51.031982 Kath BinnsSale Harriers 2.36.121983 Val HoweBracknell AC3.05.391984 Sarah FosterWoking AC 2.50.001985 Pamela DaviesBelgrave Harriers 3.22.281986 Frances GuyBelgrave Harriers 2.51.151987 Christine GrayPortsmouth J 3.18.50No races from 1988 to 19911992 Karen BowlerHailsham H 3.08.281993 Elaine FlatherSouthampton RRC2.51.211994 Elaine FlatherSouthampton RRC 2.51.511995 Eryl DaviesBridgend AC 2.49.231996 Helen GrimshawHounslow AC 2.57.56
References
External links Kingston AC & Polytechnic Harriers website The Polytechnic Marathon 1909–1996 by Ian Ridpath (race director 1993–95) University of Westminster archives