Every year I listen to the news about the Boston Marathon, the world-renowned 26.2-mile race.
Indeed, this competition gets worldwide attention and has become an international event. My question and complaint is: Why does the Boston Athletic Association, which hosts the marathon, not state the race as 42 kilometers, the units used in most international sporting events?
I am a retired science professor who had to spend the first few days of a chemistry or physics course teaching the metric system instead of jumping right into the subject, simply because of the stubborn refusal of the United States to adopt the metric system.
The Boston Athletic Association could do its part to promote the use of metric units by dropping the 26.2 miles and going with 42 km. It would be a courtesy to foreign contestants and a hint that, maybe, it is time for the U.S. to step into modern times.
I am a lifetime member of the United States Metric Association and have my own local advocacy group, the York Metric Association.
Considering that the Boston Marathon is on Patriots Day, replacing the English units with metric units could be considered a further statement of our independence from England!
Brent Maynard
president, York Metric Association
York Beach
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