The Olympic Marathon at the 1904 St. Louis Games was supposed to be a showcase of human endurance. Instead, it became one of the strangest, most chaotic sporting events in recorded history. Competitors ran in ninety-degree heat through clouds of dust kicked up by the officials' cars. One runner was chased off course by a dog. Another was unknowingly given strychnine by his coach. The first man to cross the finish line was disqualified. A man who had stopped to eat apples in an orchard nearly won. We unpack the glorious disaster of a race that tells you everything about the early Olympics — and almost nothing about athletic achievement.

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