The May 24th Bermuda Day Marathon Derby Classic is a long-standing tradition which boasts plenty of fascinating facts and nail-biting drama.

The magical allure of the great race proved to be so strong that it prompted historian and MP Dale Butler to put pen to paper and write the book Marathon.

"It's the first comprehensive look at the marathon,'' Mr. Butler explained.

"It will become the definitive version of the race. It will clear up the confusion surrounding the race, especially during the war years when there were three races going on and you had more than one person maintaining that they were the winner of the marathon.

"I think it contains about 90 percent of the available pictures of the marathon in Bermuda.'' The 310-page book will be launched this Thursday at City Hall and it should hit the book shelves by June.

The book, which contains all the winners of the marathon (in actual fact a half marathon), has been a labour of love for Mr. Butler, consuming his life, off and on, for approximately 15 years.

"It has taken me about 15 years off and on to do this book,'' he said.

"Although I received a lot of support from the Bermuda Marathon Derby committee and the runners themselves, it was still a lengthy and costly project.

"It was very expensive getting the pictures for the book -- the most expensive picture was $500,'' he added. "All the media have been very supportive of the book, providing me with pictures from the marathon up until the 70's. But any pictures taken before that I had to purchase.'' Mr. Butler said it was the frustration he experienced during his career as a teacher that prompted him to begin chronicling Bermuda's history.

Butler's `Marathon' book "As a teacher it was embarrassing to have to teach social studies and history where the local data had so many gaps,'' he recalled. "Over the years I have been attempting to fill in the gaps with my books.

"I'm on a mission to record Bermuda's history. There aren't that many of us out there doing this and we just lost one of us recently, Cyril Packwood.'' And next on his literary agenda will be a book on Calvin `Bummy' Symonds, the famous local cricketer.

"I hope to get it done in time for Cup Match,'' he added.

To place an advanced order of the book contact The Writers' Machine at P.O.

Box WK 108, Warwick WKBX or fax 232-1496.