Boston Marathon is first run.

Originally the American Marathon, the 24.5-mile course starts at Metcalf’s Mills in Ashland and ends at the Irvington Oval in Boston. The second marathon run in the U.S. (after one from Stamford, Connecticut, to New York City a few months earlier), it is the first marathon to become an annual event in the U.S. Ten of the 15 runners in the field finish. The winner is John McDermott, an Irish-born New Yorker, in 2:55:10. The starting line is moved to Hopkinton in 1924 and the distance increased to the standard 26 mile, 385-yard Olympic distance in 1927 (1908-BHL). Road straightening causes the course to “shrink” by 1,183 yards in 1956 and it is corrected in 1957. The finish line is moved to the Exeter Hotel in 1899, to the Prudential Tower in 1965, and to its current location in front of the Boston Public Library in 1985. Originally a race for amateurs, prize money is first awarded to winners in 1986.