“The old Garden was huge. Its Moorish minaret was the second-highest tower in the city, and its auditorium was the largest in the world. Even so, running 26.2 miles inside was a stretch. The organizers constructed a track measuring a tenth of a mile; the race was two hundred and sixty-two laps.” The New Yorker’s Ed Caesar on how NYC made the modern marathon.

+ An NYT short documentary: An Ecuadorian prep-chef explains how he’s become one of the fastest marathon runners in New York City.

+ And from The Guardian: Afghanistan’s marathon woman.