The Marathon Makers

In the space of 24 hours in July 1908, dramatic events came to a climax at the first London Olympic Games. The marathon distance of 26 miles 385 yards set at that time has since been accepted worldwide and this thrilling account of heroism, ambition, and scandal tells for the first time the story of three remarkable men whose destinies collided in the battles that overshadowed these Games. It is a tale that stretches from rural Italy to the battlefields of the Boer War; from Ellis Island to Broadway and beyond to explore the foundations of the modern sporting and marathon movements and celebrate the strength of the human spirit.

John Bryant is a journalist and has served as the editor-in-chief of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph. He was a long-time captain of the world’s oldest cross-country club, the Thames Hare and Hounds, and is the author of 3:59.4 and The London Marathon. Sebastian Coe is the chief of the 2012 London Olympics.