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Eratosthenes (276 — 195 BC), perhaps better known for having invented a process for isolating prime numbers called The Sieve of Eratosthenes, had an ingenious method of measuring the Earth using observations of the direction of the Sun‘s rays at different places.

His unit of measurement was the stadium, the length of the athletic track as it was in his day. ln 1791 the French National Assembly adopted the metre, defined as a ten millionth part of a quadrant of the Earth from the Equator to the Pole, so that 100 km is a hundredth part of that distance. ln an artistic fantasy a great circle through the poles becomes a huge stadium, with a hundred athletes running round it, hence our logo. more...

ln 1960 the world adopted the MKS system, whereby the metre is defined as the distance travelled by light in 1/299792,458 of a second.

Why the oval shape? Eratosthenes had regarded the Earth as a perfect sphere, neglecting to consider the effect of the Earth's rotation on a body at its surface, which makes things tend to fly away into space in a direction perpendicular to the Earth's axis. If the Earth were a perfect sphere then the combination, or resultant of this centrifugal force with the force of gravity, which is towards the Earth's centre, would not be perpendicular to the surface except at the Equator, and we should all be on a slippery slope.
Common sense then tells you that the Earth would not stay like that very long, as the oceans would flow towards the Equator, making a terrible mess of everything. ln the Encyclopaedia Britannica we are told of Clairaut's ldeal Earth, the shape of which is an "equipotential of its own attraction and rotational acceleration". ln effect an ellipsoid of revolution, good enough for all artistic purposes.

Newton knew all about this of course. What interested me was that Newton was a Grantham lad, having been born at Woolsthorpe by Colstervvorth, a nearby village, and been educated at the Grantham king's School, whilst lodging in a house in the High Street.

And with the image in mind of upside down runners held in the picture by the force of GRAVlTY, l went to the library and was allowed to look at a precious copy of his book.

And this is where we come to the point of it all.
To me the race had from the outset been a project in health education for the benefit of the British nation. It was intended to show ordinary people what ordinary people can do if they realise their natural potential, indeed, as appeared in the objects of the club, to "proclaim and show by example that the common man or woman is a natural athlete".

I had published a method I called the swing, consisting of a series of runs of increasing length mixed with carefully measured rest. Aware of a high level of physical fitness generally regarded as reserved for the gifted, and with experience of having accomplished considerable feats of endurance (not necessarily the 100 Km). the subject acquires a serene confidence, with a conviction that there is nothing with reason that he or she cannot do. and seeks further challenges in other areas, such as courses of education previously thought too demanding. Geoffrey Oliver regards this awakening of the mind as the result of knowing oneself better, and sees "know thyself"' as the main objective. Personally I cannot but notice how rich and poor can sit down at a table after a race with feelings of total mutual respect.

Long distance runners are an aristocracy that has not only cut short the rat race, cancelling old tribal distinctions even though some of them can hardly afford the cost of a new pair of running shoes when needed, but has acquired that special kind of practical courage that makes dreams come true, revealing the power of the human spirit in action.