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The Wildest Race Ever: The Story of the 1904 Olympic Marathon
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About The Wildest Race Ever: The Story Of The 1904
Product Description From Megan McCarthy the award-winning author of Pop! and Earmuffs for Everyone comes the quirky, fascinating, and inspiring story of perseverance and the importance of sportsmanship set at the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Marathon. It was 1904 and St. Louis was proud to host the World’s Fair and America’s First Olympics. Hundreds of thousands of people came by car, by train, by boat. Part of the Olympics was a wild, wacky marathon. Forty-two racers registered, thirty-two showed up, and of the three racers vying for the finish line: on drove part way, one was helped by his trainers over the line, and one was a postman who travelled from Cuba and ran in street clothes that he cut off to look like shorts. How they ran and who won is a story of twists and turns that only wouldn’t be believed if it weren’t true! And it is! Find out who won in this wacky and well-researched picture book all about the historic Olympic Marathon of 1904. From School Library Journal K-Gr 3—McCarthy presents a look at the first Olympic marathon held in America. This 24.85-mile race took place in 1904 and was part of the St. Louis World's Fair. The 32 runners who endured the 90-degree heat were offered water only at mile six and mile 12. The track was dirt, and cars and bicycles churned up so much dust that the athletes could hardly breathe. The illustrations are rendered in colorful acrylics, and McCarthy portrays her cartoonlike characters with bug eyes with tiny black pinpricks for pupils. The tone is lighthearted and humorous; for instance, McCarthy describes the antics of runner Felix Carvajal, a mailman from Cuba, who wore trousers and work shoes, pausing to chat with passersby to practice his English and resting in an apple orchard when he got hungry. Endpapers are comprised of photographs of World's Fair postcards of the time period, which enhances the historical flair. VERDICT Children will enjoy hearing about this unusual race and comparing the differences between this competition and marathons today.—Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA Review With her signature narrative zeal and goggle-eyed characters,McCarthy takes readers to the first Olympic marathon in America, held duringthe St. Louis World’s Fair. The vehicles trailing the pack kicked up dust thatchoked and blinded the runners. Cuban Felix Carvajal couldn’t resist stoppingfor fresh fruit or practicing his English with cheering onlookers. SouthAfrican Len Tau “was chased a mile off course by an angry dog.” American FredLorz, first over the finish line, probably rode most of the course in a car.And Thomas Hicks, another American and the eventual official winner, was givena concoction of egg white and strychnine en route. Readers who have grown upwith highly orchestrated sports events on TV may be surprised to learn just howslapdash, hazardous, and idiosyncratic early competition could be. But thestory requires a marathoner’s concentration to keep track of its 10 maincharacters, and the subject matter doesn’t offer McCarthy the kind of meatyambiguity that have made her previous works like Earmuffs for Everyone!so fun and compelling. -- Publishers Weekly ― December 7, 2015 McCarthy presents a look at the first Olympic marathon held in America. This 24.85-mile race took place in 1904 and was part of the St. Louis World’s Fair. The 32 runners who endured the 90-degree heat were offered water only at mile six and mile 12. The track was dirt, and cars and bicycles churned up so much dust that the athletes could hardly breathe.The illustrations are rendered in colorful acrylics, and McCarthy portrays her cartoonlike characters with bug eyes with tiny black pinpricks for pupils. The tone is lighthearted and humorous; for instance, McCarthy describes the antics of runner Felix Carvajal, a mailman from Cuba, who wore trousers and work shoes, pausing to chat with passersby to practice his English and resting in an apple orchard when he got hu
