Jun 14, 1952 - Men's World Record
James Peters (Britain) - 2:20:42
Polytechnic Marathon, Shepherd's Bush, England
James Peters of Great Britain won the Polytechnic Marathon with a record-setting time of 2:20:42. Amazingly, he broke the world record by 5 minutes despite running on a course later determined slightly too long and being hit by a car 8 miles into the race.
Jun 13, 1953 - Men's World Record
James Peters (Britain) - 2:18:40
Polytechnic Marathon, Shepherd's Bush, England
At the 1953 Polytechnic Marathon, James Peters of Great Britain broke his own world record and ran the world's first sub-2:20 marathon in a time of 2:18:40. He bested the second place Stanley Cox by nearly 8 minutes.
Oct 4, 1953 - Men's World Record
James Peters (Britain) - 2:18:34
Turku Marathon, Turku, Finland
In the midst of a brutal racing schedule, James Peters of Great Britain went to Turku on October 4, 1953 to represent his country. The course was rather bizarre; requiring the runners to start at Turku stadium, run in the countryside, loop back to the stadium for a lap in the track, do another loop in the countryside and finally run twelve laps on the stadium's track. Through all of this, Peters was able to come out the winner and set a world record of 2:18:34.
Jun 26, 1954 - Men's World Record
James Peters (Britain) - 2:17:39
Chiswick Marathon, London, England
James Peters of Great Britain broke his own world record for the second time at the 1954 Chiswick Marathon. He dropped 55 seconds this time to set a new world record of 2:17:39.