The Polytechnic Marathon 1909–1996
A brief, but still somewhat confusing,
history of London’s original marathon
Above: Jim Peters entering the Polytechnic stadium at Chiswick to set a new world marathon record, from the cover of the 1993 race programme. The year the picture was taken is uncertain but was probably 1953 or 1954.
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Below: Arthur Keily with the Sporting Life Trophy at the race finish in 1960, as
seen on the cover of the 1992 race programme.
Arthur won in a time of 2:19:06, making him the
second Briton to break 2:20 for the marathon.
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POLYTECHNIC MARATHON FACTS
At the time of its demise in
1996, the Polytechnic Marathon could claim the
following:
• It was Europe’s oldest regular
marathon
• It established 26.2 miles as the
standard marathon distance
• It was the race in which the
first-ever sub-2:20 marathon was run
• It had seen more world records than
any other marathon
• It had been run over 26.2 miles more
often than any other marathon (Boston, the only
marathon in the world to have been run more often,
did not adopt the 26.2 mile distance until 1924,
but even then was slightly short for the first
three years, as it was again in 1951–56)
With time, some of those
achievements will be overtaken, but the place of
the Polytechnic Marathon in athletics history will
remain.
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The second question is easier to answer
than the first. The Polytechnic in question was the Polytechnic
in Regent Street, London, opened by Quintin Hogg in 1882 and
now known as the University of Westminster. The Regent Street
Polytechnic had an athletic club, Polytechnic Harriers, which
in the early 1900s was probably the leading club in the
country. When the Olympic Games came to London in 1908,
organization of the Olympic marathon was placed in their hands.
In those days, there was no set distance
for the marathon – it was just a very long race, around
40 km (25 miles) 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. The distance turned out to be 26 miles
385 yards, although it must be said that measurement standards
of the day were not as accurate as they are now, and distances
were often overestimated. If measured with today’s
techniques, the distance might well have come out closer to 26
miles exactly.
The finish of the 1908 Olympic marathon
remains one of the most famous in history. A diminutive Italian
baker, Dorando Pietri, 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.
There was immense public interest in the
race, but considerable disappointment that British runners
fared poorly. In an attempt to improve matters, The Sporting Life
newspaper offered a magnificent
trophy for an international
marathon that would be second in importance only to the
Olympics. The Sporting Life asked the Polytechnic Harriers to organize
the event, and the Polytechnic Marathon was born.
The first Poly Marathon was held in 1909.
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.
Over the years, the route of the Poly
Marathon varied. Until 1932 it ended at Stamford Bridge in west
London, then in 1933 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 here that enthusiastic crowds saw Jim
Peters, the greatest marathoner of his day, break the 2 hr 20
min barrier in 1953.
In 1961 The
Sporting Life withdrew its
sponsorship, having ceased to report on athletics. A new
sponsor was found in the form of the 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).
But 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 Polytechnic Harriers merged with Kingston AC and moved in
with them at the Kingsmeadow stadium in Kingston, Surrey. A
rump of 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 LRRC then
folded. After a four-year hiatus the race was revived in 1992
by Capital Road Runners, an even shorter-lived successor to
LRRC, in conjunction with West 4 Harriers, of which I was a
member. 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
organized by a group from West 4 Harriers, with me as race
director, under licence from Kingston and Poly. The number of
runners began to build again and times improved. In 1996 we
passed on the responsibility to a commercial events organizer,
but increased traffic and other difficulties made it impossible
to keep the race going beyond 1996.
A few stalwarts from West 4 continue to run
the course every year to keep the memory of the Poly Marathon
alive, but its days as a competitive race ended with its 78th
running in 1996.
Ian Ridpath
Race Director, Polytechnic Marathon,
1993–95
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Read more about the history of
the Polytechic Marathon on the Kingston AC & Polytechnic
Harriers website
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