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Heartbreak HillHeartbreak Hill is an ascent over one-half mile of the Boston Marathon course, between the 20th and 21st mile marks. It is the last of four "Newton hills", which begin at the 17.5 mile mark. The Newton hills confound contestants (out of proportion to their modest elevation gain) by forcing a late climb on muscles battered by the downhill trend of the race to that point. Heartbreak Hill itself rises only 80 vertical feet, but is especially dreaded because of its position at the point on a marathon course at which muscle glycogen stores are likely to run out—an event referred to by marathoners as "hitting the wall". Although it is widely believed, and often reported, that the nickname "Heartbreak Hill" refers to the stretch's winnowing effects on generations of Boston Marathon participants, it actually originated with an event in the 1936 race. On this stretch, defending champion John A. Kelley caught race leader Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, giving Brown a consolatory pat on the shoulder as he passed. His competitive drive apparently stoked by this gesture, Tarzan Brown rallied, pulled away from Kelley, and went on to win—in the words of Boston Globe reporter Jerry Nason, "breaking Kelley's heart".
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