Guest blog by Philip Grant
Two
weeks ago, we celebrated the 1908 Olympic marathon race on its 112th
anniversary, with a video including newsreel film of the
two leading runners, with a crowd in Wembley High Road watching them.
The Olympic marathon
runners on a circuit of the track, before leaving Wembley Stadium, 7 August
1948.
When I
wrote to Joe Neanor, who had made the video, he said that he had also recently
run the 1948 Olympic Marathon race route – and he supplied a link to a colour film
of the race, which took place 72 years ago today. That race started and
finished in Wembley Stadium, and went out and back along Forty Lane, Fryent Way
and Honeypot Lane to Stanmore, with a loop through the countryside of
Hertfordshire. It was a tough course, with plenty of hills to climb!
The 1948
Olympic marathon course map and details. (Images
from the internet)
If you
watch the video below, it will take you back in time, and you will spot scenes
you recognise, as they were in 1948, including Olympic Way and the Town Hall.
As the runners head back towards Wembley, there are some key moments in the
race, along Fryent Way with what are now the fields of Fryent Country Park in
the background. And the finish in the stadium is almost as dramatic as that in
the 1908 Olympic marathon!
As you can see the International Olympic Committee has banned live viewing of the video on Wembley Matters but you can view it on You Tube by clicking on the embedded link or use this LINK.
As you can see the International Olympic Committee has banned live viewing of the video on Wembley Matters but you can view it on You Tube by clicking on the embedded link or use this LINK.
