Oak Hill, WV (WOAY-TV): Four years ago this week, our Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill ran my last Boston Marathon, a race with deep roots in the history books.
The Boston Marathon originated from an idea developed by a former Olympic marathon athlete in the Boston area who elected to begin a similar race in Bean Town. The idea is not modern; it was thought of by this runner in the 1800s.
The marathon distance was originally 24.5 miles before it became the standard used today….26.2 miles. The prestigious race takes place on Patriots’ Day, which commemorates the start of the Revolutionary War and is the third Monday in April each year. Only Massachusetts and Maine recognize the holiday.
The average high temperature in southern West Virginia in mid-April is middle 60s with nighttime lows in the 40s. Boston is typically cooler with lows in the 40s and highs in the 50s. The warmest Boston Marathon was 100 degrees in 1905 and several races in the 20s and 60s (1900s) saw flurries and 30s. More recently, afternoon temperatures have been in the 60s and 70s, except this year with highs in the 40s in foggy conditions.
Chief Meteorologist Chad Merrill last ran the Boston Marathon in 2019 with a time of 3:46 minutes, which was nothing compared to the winner this year, a man from Kenya who crossed the line a little more than 2 hours after starting!
