Marathon course-cutting occurs when runners complete less than an entire course of a marathon before going over the finish line. The standard length of a marathon course is 42.195 kilometers, about 26.2 miles. Course-cutting may be intentional or unintentional and can be achieved by various means.
When done intentionally, course-cutting constitutes cheating. In 1904, Frederick Lorz rode a car during the Olympic marathon in St. Louis. Many marathon runners consider course-cutting to be worse than doping, considering that dopers are at least trying to run the entire race.
read more »
The Daily Omnivore 