Editing Marathon (section)

===Marathon mania in the US===
The [[Boston Marathon]] began on 19 April 1897 and was inspired by the success of the first marathon competition in the [[1896 Summer Olympics]]. It is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's most prestigious road racing events. Its course runs from [[Hopkinton, Massachusetts|Hopkinton]] in southern Middlesex County to [[Copley Square]] in Boston. [[Johnny Hayes]]' victory at the 1908 Summer Olympics also contributed to the early growth of long-distance running and marathoning in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |title=The World 1910 Almanac and Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cGA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PP7 |year=1909 |publisher=Press Publishing Company |location=New York |pages=384–385 |chapter=Track and Field Athletics |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cGA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA384 |access-date=13 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509183108/https://books.google.com/books?id=cGA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PP7 |archive-date=9 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Whorton">{{cite book |last1=Whorton |first1=James C. |editor1-first=Jack W. |editor1-last=Berryman |editor2-first=Robert J. |editor2-last=Park |title=Sport and Exercise Science: Essays in the History of Sports Medicine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVklQ4FX76wC|year=1992 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=0-252-06242-6 |page=127 |chapter="Athlete's Heart": The Medical Debate over Athleticism, 1870–1920 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVklQ4FX76wC&pg=PA109}}</ref> Later that year, races around the [[holiday season]] including the Empire City Marathon held on New Year's Day 1909 in [[Yonkers, New York|Yonkers]], New York, marked the early running craze referred to as "marathon mania".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Robinson |first=Roger |date=January–February 2009 |title=Footsteps: 'Tis the (Racing) Season; 100 Years of Holiday Running |journal=Running Times Magazine |access-date=10 February 2011 |url=http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=15263 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222212255/http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=15263 |archive-date=22 December 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Following the 1908 Olympics, the first five amateur marathons in New York City were held on days that held special meanings: [[Thanksgiving|Thanksgiving Day]], the day after Christmas, New Year's Day, [[Washington's Birthday]], and [[Lincoln's Birthday]].<ref name="Cooper">{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Pamela |title=The American Marathon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cSPF71aP0qsC |year=1999 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |location=Syracuse, New York |isbn=0-8156-0573-0 |pages=27–48 |chapter=New York City Marathon Culture |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cSPF71aP0qsC |access-date=13 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508114057/https://books.google.com/books?id=cSPF71aP0qsC&printsec=frontcover |archive-date=8 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Frank Shorter]]'s victory in the [[Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics&nbsp;– Men's marathon|marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics]] would spur [[running boom of the 1970s|national enthusiasm for the sport]] more intensely than that which followed Hayes' win 64 years earlier.<ref name="Whorton"/> In 2014, an estimated 550,600 runners completed a marathon within the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.runningusa.org/marathon-report-2016|title=2015 Running USA Annual Marathon Report|work=RunningUSA.org|publisher=Running USA|date=25 May 2016|access-date=21 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322112519/http://www.runningusa.org/marathon-report-2016|archive-date=22 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> This can be compared to 143,000 in 1980. Today, marathons are held all around the world on a nearly weekly basis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marathonguide.com/races/races.cfm?place=intl|title=Marathon Guide: International Marathons Report|publisher=MarathonGuide|access-date=12 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110216211814/http://www.marathonguide.com/races/races.cfm?place=intl|archive-date=16 February 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>