In 1908 a small Italian runner entered the Olympic stadium in first place. He did not finish the way he started — and the world has never forgotten it.
Ten items. Say your answer out loud before you reveal it.
Read the sentence, work out the word in bold, then reveal. Say your guess out loud first.
Same method: guess from the sentence, then reveal.
These three words are the heart of the story. Guess, then reveal.
Read each part. Answer the quick check from memory, then discuss.
On 24 July 1908, the Olympic Games were being held in London, and the marathon was about to start. The route began at Windsor Castle and finished inside the new stadium at White City, so that the royal family could watch the beginning and the crowd could watch the end. The distance was about 26 miles and 385 yards — roughly 42 kilometres. The usual explanation is that this odd measurement came from the exact length of that route, and it was later adopted as the standard marathon distance.
More than fifty runners set off in heat that was severe for the time. Many of them started too quickly. As the afternoon went on, they began to fall away, one after another, and ambulances collected the ones who had stopped at the side of the road.
Among the runners was Dorando Pietri, a twenty-two-year-old from the small Italian town of Carpi, who worked in a sweet shop. He was short and light, and few people had heard of him. Instead of racing at the front, he had run at a careful pace for most of the way. While the leaders were fading, he was quietly moving up through the field.
1. Where did the race start and where did it finish, and why was that route chosen?
2. What happened to many of the runners as the afternoon went on?
3. How did Dorando run for most of the race, and what was he doing while the leaders faded?
1. It started at Windsor Castle and finished in the stadium at White City, so that the royal family could see the start and the crowd the finish.
2. They had started too fast in the heat, so they slowed down, fell away and some had to be taken off the road by ambulance.
3. He ran at a careful, steady pace and was moving up through the field while the leaders were getting weaker.
By the time the leaders were approaching the stadium, Dorando had overtaken most of them and had taken the lead. He entered the arena at White City in first place, to the cheers of about 75,000 people. But he looked terrible. He had been running for nearly three hours, and he had clearly hit the wall.
Then he turned the wrong way. Officials ran to him and pointed him in the right direction. A few steps later his legs gave way and he collapsed on the track. He got up, staggered forward, and fell again. Most accounts say he fell five times in the last few hundred metres.
Doctors and officials crowded round him. The spectators were shouting. And at some point, while Dorando was lying on the track, someone took his arm and lifted him to his feet. Supported on both sides, he staggered towards the line. He crossed it in 2 hours 54 minutes and 46 seconds, with the stadium roaring.
1. What was the situation when Dorando entered the stadium?
2. What mistake did he make, and how did the officials respond?
3. How did he get across the finishing line?
1. He was in first place and 75,000 people were cheering, but he was completely exhausted — he had hit the wall.
2. He turned the wrong way; officials ran to him and turned him round to face the right direction.
3. Officials and doctors helped him up and supported him on both sides, so he staggered across the line with their help.
The crowd had been watching a man win the Olympic marathon. But almost at once, the American team lodged a protest. Their runner, Johnny Hayes, had come in about half a minute later, and they argued that Dorando had been helped to the finish. The rules said that he should have run the race without assistance.
The judges agreed. Dorando was disqualified, and the gold medal went to Hayes. Dorando was taken to the medical room.
That might have been the end of the story. Instead, the public had already decided who the real hero was. The newspapers wrote about him for days — the writer Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, reported on the race and described the final lap in detail. The next day Queen Alexandra presented Dorando with a special gilded silver cup. A song, “Dorando”, was written about him. Later he made a living by running exhibition races in several countries.
Hayes kept his gold medal, and few people argue that the decision was legally wrong. And yet more than a century later, it is Dorando's name that most people remember.
1. Why did the American team protest?
2. What was the judges' decision, and who received the gold medal?
3. What happened to Dorando afterwards, even though he had been disqualified?
1. They argued that Dorando had been helped over the finishing line, which the rules did not allow.
2. The judges upheld the protest: Dorando was disqualified and the gold medal went to Johnny Hayes.
3. He became famous: newspapers praised him, the Queen gave him a silver cup, a song was written about him, and he ran exhibition races for money.
A good story keeps different times in order — what was happening in the background, what happened next, and what had already happened. Four tenses do that job. Look at how the story above used them.
Read the whole sentence first. Decide: main event, background, earlier event, or long action before a moment.
1. By the time the runner reached the stadium, the sun (beat) down on the course for three hours.
2. The first runner (arrive) while the band (play).
3. He (not eat) anything since breakfast, so he felt weak at the 30-kilometre mark.
4. While the officials (argue), the second runner (cross) the line.
5. When I (finish) the race, my friends (wait) for me with a bottle of water.
1. had been beating (a long action before the moment: “for three hours”)
2. arrived / was playing (main event, then the background scene)
3. had not eaten (earlier than the weak feeling at 30 km)
4. were arguing / crossed (background action, then a completed event)
5. finished / were waiting (main event, then the scene they were in)
Each sentence contains one tense mistake. Rewrite the whole sentence correctly.
1. He fell five times before somebody has helped him.
2. The leaders were running too fast, so they were exhausted by the time they reached the hills.
3. When Dorando was entering the stadium, 75,000 people stood up and cheered. (The second event follows the first.)
4. The judges decided that he broke the rules.
5. He was running for nearly three hours when he entered the stadium.
1. He fell five times before somebody helped him.
2. The leaders had run too fast, so they were exhausted by the time they reached the hills. (They ran fast before they became exhausted.)
3. When Dorando entered the stadium, 75,000 people stood up and cheered.
4. The judges decided that he had broken the rules. (The rule-breaking came before the decision.)
5. He had been running for nearly three hours when he entered the stadium.
Here are some notes. Write one sentence for each, using the tense the note suggests. Then say the whole story aloud.
1. (earlier event) Dorando / train carefully / for months / before the Games →
2. (background) the stadium / be / full of noise / when he / arrive →
3. (main event) officials / lift / him / to his feet →
4. (earlier event) the American team / already / lodge / a protest / by the evening →
5. (long action) he / run / for almost three hours / when he / collapse →
1. Dorando had trained carefully for months before the Games. (or: had been training)
2. The stadium was full of noise when he arrived.
3. Officials lifted him to his feet.
4. By the evening, the American team had already lodged a protest.
5. He had been running for almost three hours when he collapsed.
Now tell the whole Dorando story aloud in under a minute, with at least one example of each of the four tenses.
The story of Dorando is about more than one man's bad luck. It raises questions about fairness, effort and what we count as winning — and it also explains something about the distance runners train for today.
The marathon distance was not fixed until after 1908. After the London Games it was gradually standardised at 42.195 km — 26 miles 385 yards — which is the length of that Windsor-to-stadium route. A half marathon is simply half of it: 21.0975 km, or 13.1 miles.
Today a half marathon is one of the most popular distances in the world. It is long enough to demand real training, but short enough that many ordinary runners can complete it within a few months of preparation.
1. What is the exact length of a half marathon in kilometres?
2. Which event in the story is the usual explanation for the marathon's odd length?
3. Say the sentence in the past perfect: “They ran too fast, and then they became tired.”
1. 21.0975 km (about 13.1 miles).
2. The 1908 London Olympics: the route from Windsor Castle to the stadium.
3. They had run too fast before they became tired.
People have argued about the 1908 decision for over a century. Both sides have a real case.
These phrases work for any race — your own, or one you watched. Complete the sentences from memory, then reveal.
1. Which word completes the phrasal verb meaning “to start a race or journey”: “We set ___ at nine o'clock.”
2. “I was ___ for the last two kilometres.” (hang on — in the past continuous)
3. “I ___ a personal best.” (made / set — which verb goes with the noun?)
1. off — “set off”.
2. hanging on — meaning I was barely able to keep going.
3. set — “I set a personal best”.
Now it's your turn. Choose a task, start the timer, and talk. Aim to use all four narrative tenses at least once.
Describe a time you wanted to stop but kept going. What was happening, and what made you continue?
Tell the story of a race, match, trip or event you took part in: the build-up, the main moment and what happened afterwards.
Describe something you trained or prepared for over weeks or months. What did you do, and did it go as planned?
Choose a side: was Dorando's disqualification fair? Argue your case in two minutes, then argue the other side.