#2 Boston Marathon
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Hosted by the cities in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, the Boston Marathon was started in 1897. It has been in existence for 117 years, making it the longest running marathon in history. The Boston Marathon was first run in April 1897, inspired by the success of marathon in 1896 Summer Olympics, in Athens. It is always held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April.
Considered to be one of the most difficult marathon courses, the circuit runs through the centre of Boston, where the official finish line is located at Copley Square, alongside the Boston Public Library.
The age old marathon, however, has witnessed a lot of mishaps. From scandals to deaths, the event has seen it all.
Rosie Ruiz, an amateur runner, sparked an insane scandal in 1980 when she came out of nowhere to win the women's race. After a review by officials, it was discovered Ruiz did not appear in race videotapes until near the end of the race. Ruiz skipped most of the race and mingled into the crowd about one mile from the finish line. Ruiz was later disqualified, and Canadian runner Jacqueline Gareau was declared the winner.
In 2002, a 28-year-old runner, Cynthia Lucero died of hyponatremia. She died due to excessive drinking or water intoxication, a condition which is caused by stress hormones.
The Boston Marathon has also been a victim of mass bombings. On April 15, 2013, the marathon witnessed two bombings, just 225 yards away from the course. 3 spectators were killed and an estimated 264 were injured in the Boston Marathon massacre. The race had to be stopped, preventing many from finishing. Entrants who completed half the course but weren’t able to finish due to the bombing were given an automatic entry in 2014.
In 2015, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the perpetrators of the bombing, was found guilty of 30 federal offences related to the attack and was sentenced to death.
