At the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis the marathon was a disaster, the race took place on a hot humid day in August. Because the race track was a dirt road, the runners had to dodge traffic and run through clouds of dust. During the race, one runner was chased off the course by wild dogs. Only a third of the runners reached the end of the dangerous dusty course. The first runner to finish the race was disqualified, he hitched a ride in a car for 11 miles. The gold medalist also struggled to finish the course, after a strong start he became seriously ill during the race, his trainers carried him across the finish line.
