Centenary of Albert Hall marathon will strike a chord for 2012 Olympics

The original race took place on Saturday, 18 December 1909, and was between two of the most celebrated long-distance runners of the Edwardian era – Charlie Gardiner, accepted at the time as the best marathon specialist in Britain, and Dorando Pietri, the Italian who had been the hero of the previous year's London Olympic Games.

The original gallant loser, Pietri had been taken to the heart of the British public despite failing to win the 1908 Olympic marathon. He had taken the lead in the closing stages of the event, but collapsed several times and only crossed the finish line with the assistance of umpires.

The Italian was soon disqualified, with the gold going to Johnny Hayes of America, but his plight won him widespread sympathy and he was later awarded a silver cup by Queen Alexandra. Noting Pietri's popularity, the Sporting Life newspaper came up with the idea of a race involving him, and invited Gardiner, who as a professional had been barred from the Olympics, to compete against him.

The articles of agreement for the marathon were signed at the Sporting Life offices on 30 November 1909. A purse of 150 was agreed: 100 for the winner and 50 for the loser.

Initially, the Albert Hall track was not to Gardiner's liking, and his manager, Bob Hunter, suggested the outdoor circuit at Stamford Bridge instead. However Ulpiano Pietri, representing Dorando, said his brother would not run outdoors between October and April, so the indoor venue was agreed.

In the event, Pietri's failure to complete the 1908 marathon was proven to be no unlucky one-off, as he was again unable to last the distance. He began to struggle badly some way from the end of the 524-lap race, and eventually conceded defeat around the 23-mile mark. Gardiner completed the course in two hours 37 minutes to claim victory.

"In the long and celebrated history of the Royal Albert Hall, the 1909 marathon remains one of our most intriguing events," said Jasper Hope, the venue's director of events. "As the home of many of the greatest cultural and sporting events in the past century, including Olympic boxing in 1908, it seemed appropriate to mark this centenary with a small tribute to Gardiner and Pietri."

Norman and Peter Green, grandsons of Gardiner's, will attend the anniversary celebration and fire the starting pistol for the race. It is a symbolic re- enactment rather than a full marathon, however, as the runners will only be expected to complete several laps of the hall.

Even so, they will do it in style, according to Ian Maclay, the managing director of the Royal Philharmonic. "The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has a very close relationship with the Royal Albert Hall, and we also have a number of very athletic musicians who are running here to-day to mark the hall's marathon celebrations," he said.

Besides observing the centenary of the marathon, today's event is also being used to launch a scheme linking classical orchestras with the London Olympics – the 2012 Orchestral Marathon. This will involve the country's orchestras in a symbolic relay race in the run-up to that year's Olympics, with a conductor's baton being passed from one orchestra to another in what is being billed as "a musical tribute to the UK Olympic team".

"We are uniquely placed to provide a historical link between the London Olympics of 1908 and the Games in 2012, as well as an opportunity to announce a fantastic musical celebration by so many great British orchestras, whose performances we are so proud to regularly host," Hope added.

The re-enactment of the race will be followed by a talk about the 1909 event by John Bryant, author of The Marathon Makers. The talk will be illustrated by some rarely seen photos of the event, one of which is reproduced here.