The 1904 Olympic Marathon
The 1904 Olympic marathon may have been the strangest ever. Of the 32 runners, only five were experienced marathoners; one showed up at the starting line barefoot, and a Cuban runner was attired in a white, long-sleeved shirt, long, dark pants, a beret and a pair of street shoes. One fellow Olympian took pity, found a pair of scissors and cut his trousers at the knee. On August 30 they fired the starting pistol, and the men were off. Heat…