The Marathon of the 1904 St. Louis Olympics May Have Been the Strangest Ever | Smithsonian

Headlines are quick hits from media outlets from Missouri and around the world. Follow the headline link for the full story. The source of this headline says:

In 1904, St. Louis hosted the Olympic Games as part of the World's Fair—and produced a spectacle that incorporated all the mischief of the midway . . .

The Olympics’ signal event, the marathon, was conceived to honor the classical heritage of Greece and underscore the connection between the ancient and modern. But from the start the 1904 marathon was less showstopper than sideshow, a freakish spectacle that seemed more in keeping with the carnival atmosphere of the fair than the reverential mood of the games. The outcome was so scandalous that the event was nearly abolished for good.

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The Marathon of the 1904 St. Louis Olympics May Have Been the Strangest Ever | Smithsonian

Distilled History
A Drinking Blog with a History Problem
August 9th, 2012 by Cameron
Rough Day at the 1904 Olympic Marathon
1904 Olympic Marathon

On August 30, 1904, thirty-two athletes from four nations lined up for a forty kilometer race at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. It was the marathon race at the III Olympiad, and what happened over the next twenty-five miles or so is one of the best stories in the history of the sport. I’ve stood up for the St. Louis Olympics in a previous post on this blog, but there’s no defending the marathon. It was a debacle. Before I get to what happened in the race, you have to imagine St. Louis in August. It’s hot. It’s really hot. The humidity is awful, there’s rarely any wind, and being outside while just standing still is no fun. The idea of running a marathon in that kind of heat is insane. True to form, St. Louis kicked in a scorcher on marathon day in 1904. When the race started around 2:30pm, temperatures were above 90, the humidity was brutal, and the runners faced a course with seven large hills. It was going to be a long day.

The race started with five laps of the Olympic Stadium and then headed west into St. Louis County. A team of horses preceding the runners kicked up dirt on county roads that were not paved. Automobiles following the runners made it worse. Runners quickly found it difficult to breath through the clouds of dust. To make matters worse, the only water station on the route was a small well at mile twelve.
1904 Marathon Route

Conditions were so bad that of the thirty-two runners, only fourteen completed the race. As runners dropped out, the crowd back at the stadium became weary waiting for the runners to return. After three long hours, an American named Frederick Lorz appeared in the distance. In actuality, Lorz had dropped out of the race back at mile nine. After quitting, he hitched a ride for several miles. The car broke down, prompting Lorz to hop out and jog back to the stadium. When he got there, the crowd assumed he was the leader.

http://www.distilledhistory.com/1904marathon/

You can see the route of the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Marathon here:

http://www.mapmyrun.com/us/university-city-mo/1904-st-louis-olympic-mara...