Dec. 31, 2025

The Origin of Weird: 1904 Olympic Marathon

The Origin of Weird: 1904 Olympic Marathon

What happens when a world-stage marathon is staged like a dare? We head back to the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis and trace a course lined with heat, dust, and a shocking lack of common sense. With temperatures near 90 degrees, one lonely water stop, and cars belching dust into runners’ faces, the race becomes a case study in how bad science and thin rules can turn sport into survival.

We break down the pivotal moments that made this marathon infamous: Fred Lorz riding in a car for miles, then crossing the line to cheers; Thomas Hicks stumbling through the final stretch after his handlers fed him raw eggs, brandy, and strychnine; and Felix Carvajal, the Cuban mail carrier who ran in street clothes, chatted with spectators, ate apples, took a roadside nap, and still finished fourth. Each story exposes a different failure—of oversight, of medical judgment, of basic safety—that forced the sporting world to rethink how endurance events should be run.

Along the way, we connect the chaos to what came next: standardized marathon distance, closed and marked courses, real hydration protocols, bans on outside assistance, and the early roots of anti-doping. This is a fast-moving, eye-opening tour through the day the Olympics learned the hard way that grit needs guardrails. If you care about running history, athlete welfare, or just love a wild true story, this one delivers lessons with every mile.

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00:16 - Meet Bradley And Kate

00:45 - Setting The Stage: 1904 Marathon

01:31 - Heat, No Water, Bad Science

02:42 - A Course Choked With Dust

04:20 - Runners Drop As Chaos Mounts

06:40 - Fred Lorz Rides, “Wins,” And Lies

08:16 - Thomas Hicks And The Poison Plan

10:15 - Held To The Line, Declared Champion

12:10 - Felix Carvajal’s Wild Fourth Place

14:15 - What Changed Because Of 1904

16:52 - Closing, Jokes, And Callouts

WEBVTT

00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:17.120
Oh, hey there.

00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:18.239
Oh, hey there.

00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:19.359
How are you today?

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I'm well, how are you?

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I am well.

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This is Bradley.

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I'm Kate.

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This is the History of Buffoon's Origin of Weird.

00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:26.800
Yes.

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Where we try to find the origin of weird.

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There's so many weird things in this world.

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We'll never find it.

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One of these times it'll be a story on you.

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Well.

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When you're right, you're right.

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Sorry.

00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:47.920
We're going all the way back to 1904 today.

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That is a long ways away.

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So we are going to talk about the 1904 Olympic Marathon.

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Okay.

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And it was an athletic event of truly Olympic proportions, if I do say so myself.

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I think you're the only one that's going to say that yourself.

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So I am going to go chronologically in the story, as you do, but I'm going to start by asking you a question.

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Alright, let's do it.

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I want to know if it's real or if it's fake.

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Okay.

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Okay.

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So this first one, Olympic officials believed drinking water during a marathon was dangerous and limited access on purpose.

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True.

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Unfortunately, that is true.

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Yeah.

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The marathon that was held on August 30th, 1904, in St.

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Louis, Missouri.

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During it was during a stretch of like insane brutal heat.

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Oh dear.

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Temperatures hovered around 90 degrees, the humidity was oppressive, and the race was scheduled in the afternoon.

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Maximum damage.

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Exposure.

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Yeah.

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Fuck.

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So from this start, the event was less a test of athletic endurance and more an experiment in how much suffering the human body could tolerate without collapsing.

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Isn't it wild that at one point they thought, no, water's gonna be bad for you?

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Yeah.

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Don't do that.

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I mean, what did they give them?

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Sand?

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I mean, for fuck's sake.

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Oh, they gave them nothing.

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Well, right.

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You know what I mean though.

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It's just it's wild that even in, you know, 121 years ago, a little over, I guess.

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They they thought water's bad.

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Don't drink that.

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That'll fuck up your running style.

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I know.

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They uh they thought that the water would flood the system, the body.

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Jesus Christ.

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Like slow the heart rate, reduce stamina.

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Yeah.

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So in their view, thirst was not was not a warning sign.

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It was a weakness.

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It was a weakness.

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Yes.

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And some medical thinkers at the time also feared that drinking water while overheated would cause stomach cramps, nausea, or shock.

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Well, okay.

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So at this time there was no standardized Olympic marathon rules, no universal distance agreement or consistent safety protocols.

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So just like, uh, see that tree down there?

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We're doing that today.

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Is that what they did?

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I mean, what the fuck?

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They didn't know the distances they wanted to do.

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I I think they they had like a finish line.

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They had a distance, right?

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But but it the distance was 24.85 miles long.

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That's a long, long way to run for for me.

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And their single and only water stop was 12 to 13 miles in.

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Well, halfway, I guess.

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So at least they got that going for them.

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Next question.

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Oh dear.

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The marathon course was clearly marked, fenced off, and closed to traffic.

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False.

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It's fake.

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Yeah.

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The course itself was a mess.

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Oh, wait.

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Am I supposed to say real or fake?

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No, you're you're correct.

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Yeah, it's fake.

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Yeah.

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False, fake, whatever.

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No, I just yeah.

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Yeah, that's fine.

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True or false, real or fake, similar things.

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Um, so rather than mean close to traffic, the route, the route ran along dusty, unpaved public roads.

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Oh my god.

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Race officials followed the runners in cars, unintentionally creating massive clouds of dust that hung in the air.

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Well, right, because God forbid the people have water.

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They're not going to water the road to keep the dust down.

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Athletes were not just running these miles, they were also inhaling all the dirt and the grit and the exhaust with every breath.

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Several runners being coughing violently within the first few miles while others struggled to clearly see.

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Yeah, like I think I'm off course here.

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Shit.

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Shit.

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Oh, that's funny.

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Because, like, I mean, I know they probably didn't know better, I guess, but yeah.

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Clearly, hey, it's really dry, dusty cars.

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That's how we'll do this.

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That's how we'll do this.

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What the fuck?

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They didn't they could not even fathom that this would kick up all this dust and I don't know, fuck with the runners.

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Question number three.

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Oh dear.

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Several runners collapsed or dropped out within the first 10 miles due to heat and dehydration.

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True.

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Real.

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Correct.

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Within the opening stretch stretch of the race, competitors began dropping out, heat exhaust exhaustion set in early, exacerbated by high dehydration and lack of shade.

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And by 10 miles in, the field was already like thinning pretty bad.

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Do you have a total number of runners for this race?

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I don't.

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Okay.

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Do you want me to look it up real quick?

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I mean, not really now.

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Fine.

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Some run runners collapsed outright while others simply wandered off course, unable to continue.

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They're just like, yeah, I'm just gonna go sit over here and watch everybody else.

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See that tree?

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You'll find me right there sitting below the boughs.

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Uh medical support was minimal, and officials largely viewed these withdrawals as personal failures rather than predictable outcomes of the conditions.

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Most people are super dicks.

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I know personal failures.

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Man, if you were fucking training better, you wouldn't have this.

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It's like, go fuck yourself, man.

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I know.

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That's insane that they would even blame the fucking contestants on the fucking conditions that they're making them run in.

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That's fucking wild.

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So I I looked it up real quick.

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I figured there were 32 runners.

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Wow.

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Only 14 finished.

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I'm surprised it was that many.

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Yeah.

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I mean, Jesus Christ.

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Okay.

00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:09.360
Question number four.

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Yes.

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One runner quit early, rode in a car, then rejoined the race towards the finish line.

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True.

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Correct.

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One of the early casualties was Fred Lors, a New York runner who developed severe cramps around mile nine.

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Okay.

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Unable to continue, Lors climbed into a car driven by his manager.

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The car followed the course for roughly 11 miles, during which time Lors rested and recovered.

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Imagine that.

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Near the finish line, he hopped back out and rejoined the race on foot.

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I mean, they disqualified him, right?

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Question number five.

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Race officials immediately noticed the cheating and stopped the runner before he crossed the finish line.

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False.

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It's false.

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Because they're fucking idiots.

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Jesus Christ.

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Lores jumped out of his car and jogged across the finish line ahead of everyone else.

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Officials initially declared him the winner.

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Spectators cheered, photographs were taken, and Lores was even going to meet President Theodore Roosevelt.

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Oh, Jesus.

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It was only later, after witnesses spoke up, that officials realized he had spent most of the race riding in a vehicle.

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When confronted, Lores claimed it was all a joke.

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He was banned for a little bit of time.

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I don't know how long, but should have been banned for life.

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He was quietly forgiven.

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It was just a joke, man.

00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:40.080
Just a joke.

00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:42.480
Dude, can't don't you have a sense of humor?

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What the fuck?

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No, it's not a joke.

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You straight up fucking cheated.

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And then kind of like, oh hey.

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Yeah.

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I'm gonna play with this.

00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:51.759
Yeah, exactly.

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Hey, Teddy.

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Question number six.

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The runner that ended up being declared winner after Lores was so exhausted he could barely stand on his own.

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True.

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Correct.

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With Lores' disqualified attention, turns at an ex finisher, Thomas Hicks.

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By the time Hicks reached the final miles, he was in horrific condition.

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He was pale, disoriented, and barely conscious.

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Oh my god.

00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:19.919
Question seven.

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Oh dear.

00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:27.360
Hicks trainers gave him alcohol, raw eggs, and small doses of rat poison during the race.

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True.

00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:29.039
It's true.

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Why the fuck?

00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:33.840
Oh did you know what kind of alcohol?

00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:35.679
Um, yeah.

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Um, so what few people realized at first was that Hicks trainers had been actively administering performance enhancers during the race.

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These included raw egg whites, brandy, and small doses of strict strict strychnine.

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Strychnine.

00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:56.399
Strychnine.

00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:56.960
Really?

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Yeah.

00:09:57.519 --> 00:09:59.039
I didn't know it was pronounced nine at the end.

00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:00.320
I thought it was nine-nine.

00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:01.840
Strychnine.

00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:05.600
So that was um commonly used as rat poison back then.

00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:07.919
And these are performance enhancing?

00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:08.480
Apparently.

00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:11.440
I feel like they're performance deterrents.

00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:12.480
What the hell?

00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:17.360
Um, you're slacking a little bit, rat poison.

00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:19.600
I mean just the thing.

00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:21.360
Oh, that's really getting me going.

00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:22.399
Thanks, coach.

00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:24.159
I mean, what the hell?

00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:37.679
In the early 20th century, strychnine was believed to act as a stimulant in tiny quantities, but in reality, it caused Hicks to hallucinate and teeter on the edge of organ failure.

00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:39.759
Yeah, no shit.

00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:46.159
God damn, fucking sometimes you bring up the Middle Ages and they're so close.

00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:47.519
Fucking hell.

00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:48.480
How would you?

00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:52.320
I mean, oh, I don't even know how to start this.

00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:54.320
Fucking idiots.

00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:56.240
I don't worry.

00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:57.840
The brandy will counteract it.

00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:03.600
I mean, his liver was probably shutting down foot by foot and yard by yard.

00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:04.399
Like, oh yeah.

00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:06.320
Dude, you're not gonna make it.

00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:07.840
Question number eight.

00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:08.480
Oh dear.

00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:13.360
Hicks was disqualified because his trainers physically helped him cross the finish line.

00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:14.320
True.

00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:15.039
False.

00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:17.279
You already said he won, yeah.

00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:18.879
As yeah, that's okay.

00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:25.759
As Hit Hicks approached the finish line, his trainers physically held him upright and guided him forward.

00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:32.320
His legs moved but barely, and he was effectively being carried for parts of the final stretch.

00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:38.320
And despite this clear outside assistance, officials allowed the finish to stand.

00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:43.360
Hicks crossed the line and was declared the official Olympic marathon champion.

00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:46.559
I mean, it's not far off from driving in a car.

00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:52.639
I mean, it is and it isn't, but moments later he collapsed and required hours of medical treatment.

00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:54.559
Well, they give more strychnine.

00:11:54.799 --> 00:12:02.000
No, but a doctor did say that if he um had received another dose of strychnine, he would have died.

00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:03.360
Fucking hell.

00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:04.000
Yeah.

00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:07.360
And then his managers or whatever would have been charged with murder.

00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:09.120
Probably not, probably not, no.

00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:10.320
Question number nine.

00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:11.039
Oh boy.

00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:12.960
One runner stopped.

00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:14.399
Excuse me.

00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:23.759
One runner stopped to chat with spectators, ate fruit, got sick, took a nap, and still finished near the top.

00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:24.879
Good on him.

00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:25.440
True.

00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:26.879
It is true.

00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:34.320
Amid all the chaos, one of the most remarkable performances belonged to Felix Caravajal.

00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:35.440
Caravajal.

00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:37.039
Sorry, I'm not Cuban.

00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:38.639
Is that what his ethnicity?

00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:40.559
He is a Cuban mail carrier.

00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:41.600
And he arrived in St.

00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:43.200
Cuban mail carrier?

00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:45.840
So like he carries men around.

00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:47.840
Sorry.

00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:51.360
He arrived in St.

00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:54.799
Louis with almost no money and no no formal training.

00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:59.120
He ran the marathon in street clothes, including long pants and leather shoes.

00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:00.159
That sounds terrible.

00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:06.080
During the race, uh Carvajal um stopped repeatedly to chat with spectators.

00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:12.159
At one point, he picked apples from an orchard along the route, ate them, and then became violently ill.

00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:13.919
Because it probably ate a worm or something.

00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:14.480
Jesus.

00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:17.919
Later he lay down by the roadside and took a brief nap.

00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:21.840
Despite all this, he finished fourth.

00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:23.279
That's that's impressive.

00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:24.320
Do you think he's running along?

00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:25.360
These people look nice.

00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:26.799
Hey, where's a good place to eat?

00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:27.120
Yeah.

00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:30.159
I mean, what are you doing?

00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:31.200
I don't know.

00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:38.480
But he was one of the few runners to complete the race without cheating, chemical assistance, or medical collapse because he took a nap.

00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:40.240
Well, he got he got some rest.

00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:40.799
He did.

00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:43.120
Some well-needed mid-race rest.

00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:44.720
Okay, question 10.

00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:50.399
The Olympic committee immediately apologized and admitted the marathon was a mistake.

00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:52.240
False.

00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:53.039
Yeah.

00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:54.080
That's false.

00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:56.080
Yeah, there's no way they're admitting that.

00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:58.960
Accountability took its sweet, sweet time.

00:13:59.120 --> 00:13:59.840
Oh, no shit.

00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:06.159
In the aftermath of 1904, the Olympic marathon was widely criticized, though not immediately reformed.

00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:12.639
The race exposed the dangers of unregulated endurance, competition, and outdated medical beliefs.

00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:13.279
Wow.

00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:28.879
Over time, it contributed to major changes in marathon standards, including better hydration practices, clearer rules about assistance, improved course safety, and eventually the introduction of anti-doping regulations.

00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:29.519
Nice.

00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:35.679
The modern marathon exists in this current form largely because this one went so bad.

00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:43.360
That's wild that it uh it created so many stipulations for future races.

00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:47.360
They literally just fucked this one under the ground so hard.

00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:55.759
In the end, the 1904 Olympic marathon was not won by strength or speed, but by whoever managed to survive the longest.

00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:00.159
Whoever could just be like, all right, just a little longer.

00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:01.039
Just a little longer.

00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:02.000
Just a little longer.

00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:03.840
Oh my god, is that a dust cloud?

00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:07.279
I think marathons now are 26 miles or something.

00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:08.240
Is that the 26?

00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:08.960
26.

00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:10.559
Yeah, 26.6.

00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:13.759
It's funny.

00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:19.279
Long before I ever saw this official one, I'd see the 26.2, I'm like, I should do a 0.0.

00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:20.720
And then of course I start seeing those.

00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:21.600
Oh, did you?

00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:23.200
Oh, I had I haven't seen those yet.

00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:28.080
Oh my god, they're they're they're everywhere, but I'm like, I should do 0.0 because I'm never doing that.

00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:32.879
Um, I don't have what you would call the knees to get me through a race.

00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:35.840
I thought you were gonna say the need, the need to run.

00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:37.519
Yes, that too.

00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:41.759
Or the want, yeah, or the gumption, whatever old timey word you want.

00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:43.039
You don't have the moxie.

00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:44.720
I don't have any moxie.

00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:50.639
I have a couch, and my butt implant needs to get back.

00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:55.200
That's why I gotta butt uh like you never really watch The Simpsons, right?

00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:59.120
No, there was one episode I haven't watched them in years.

00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:00.159
They're a great show.

00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:03.120
I love it, but I just I just don't watch it anymore.

00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:16.000
Um there's one from long ago though where uh Homer was on his couch and um I don't remember exactly all the details because it's been so long, but he uh someone else sat there.

00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:17.919
He's like, Man, you're messing up my groove.

00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:20.240
He's had to like his butt groove.

00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:26.159
Yeah, and he's like getting it back, and he's like he spent a lot of time to get his butt groove back in his couch.

00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:29.200
Sounds like Sheldon from Big Bang Theory.

00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.279
A little bit where he's got his spot, yeah kind of thing.

00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:37.600
Yeah, but no, I would not have any inclination at all to be like, you know what?

00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:39.279
Sounds like a great idea.

00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:43.440
A dusty run in the Olympics.

00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:44.799
Cause no.

00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:46.799
And plus my knees would fail.

00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:47.440
Yeah, they would.

00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:49.440
They would hurt so bad.

00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:50.000
Yeah.

00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:50.879
But you know.

00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:51.679
Welp.

00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:52.559
I suppose.

00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:53.759
All right, buffoons.

00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:55.120
That's it for today's episode.

00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:59.519
Buckle up because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you next time.

00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:01.919
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00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:06.880
Or maybe you have a burning question or a wild historical theory for us to explore?

00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:08.559
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00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:13.359
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00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:17.839
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00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:20.960
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00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:25.839
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00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:29.440
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00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:32.240
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