Anyone familiar with St. Louis and its summers knows August can be brutally hot and humid, not good conditions for an endurance race. The route, at that time, was not paved and the horse and carriage clearing the route, along with officials and trainers, in automobiles, left the runners in the dust and exhaust. The route was 25 miles and consisted of seven steep hills. There was only one water stop, halfway through the route. Of the 36 entrants, only 32 actually competed, of these 32 athletes, only 18 finished the marathon.
The first runner to cross the finish line was celebrated wildly, Alice Roosevelt, the president’s daughter, was about to hand him the gold medal, when he confessed that he had actually quit the race, caught a ride with his trainer. When his trainer’s car broke down, he trotted the remaining route, to the finish line, so he could retrieve his clothing.
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The official winner, T. J. Hicks, had help along the route, his trainer provided strychnine and brandy to keep him going.
(3) He was supported to the finish line and collapsed before he could receive his medal.
Photo left: TJ Hicks, the day after the marathon with awards
This was the first time Africans Athletes were allowed to compete in an Olympic venue. These two runners were actually part of an exhibit from the nearby World’s Fair. They finished the race in ninth and 12th place. It is speculated that the ninth place finisher may have done better had he not been chased a mile off course by a dog.
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The story about the Cuban, Felix Carvajal,(bib #3, see photo below) is extremely interesting and funny. After quitting his job, he begged and raced street folk to earn enough money to get to St. Louis. On his way, he lost all his money, in a New Orleans crap game, so he had to hitchhike his way to the Games. He arrived just before the marathon began. He ran the marathon in his street pants, long sleeve shirt and shoes. Moments before the race was to begin, a fellow athlete cut his pants to the knee. Apparently he was quite jovial along the route and had no trouble, until spied an apple orchard and got hungry. The apples were bad which caused him to get ill and lay down. After recovering, Felix returned to the race and finished in fourth place.
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