In 1939, the first Mileage Marathon was conducted by the employees of the Shell Oil Co. Research Laboratory at Wood River. Since that time, 22 Marathon competitions have been held under the sponsorship of the Laboratory recreational organization. All preparation and competition has been the result of individual effort on the part of the participants.
This report presents a brief history of the Marathon, including rules, method of scoring, and results. However, the major portion is devoted to a discussion of the steps taken to establish the current record of 244.35 mpg with a 1959 Fiat 600.
