imaRunner: Tom Longboat (1888 - 1949)

Tom who?

That question is not unexpected. Tom Longboat was a native Canadian who used to outrun all his peers at long distance, way back in the early 1900s. He outraced Dorando Pietri of Italy (who won the 1908 Olympics marathon, but was subsequently disqualified) in Dec 1908 in Madison Square Garden, New York City in a time of 2 hours 45 min and 5.2 sec over 26.2 miles to win a handsome prize of $3,750.

One-on-one races around racing tracks were widespread and popular in those days (along with betting). The Longboat-Pietri race was attended by 14,000 roaring spectators. It was prompted by the misadventure associated with the Olympics that year - the Americans objected to Pietri's win on grounds that he was illegally assisted. That fact was indisputable. When Pietri staggered into the track for the last leg of the marathon, he collapsed three times, and was revived by officials, and carried even, with pushes and small pats. Pietri was disqualified and the gold went to John Hayes, an American. The disqualification and the fact that Tom Longboat was the pre-race favorite set up this one-on-one race in New York.

Tom Longboat won the 1907 Boston marathon and was regarded as the world's best distance runner after he defeated Englishman Alfie Shrubb in 1909. He won more races than any of his contemporaries, over distances ranging from 3 miles to the marathon. He went on to win two more indoor marathons after New York. He also ran an exhibition solo run of 35 miles from the city of Hamilton to Toronto (where he lived) in 1907. Talk about ultra marathons. Tom Longboat was a pioneer ultra-marathoner!

In Jack Batten's book "The Man Who Ran Faster than Everyone: The Story of Tom Longboat", Tom was described as "a good husband (he had two wives) and father (he lost a 5-year old son to an automobile accident), a diligent worker (he ended his days as a street cleaner - a humble but respectable job in the depression years), an amiable and gentle man (he always respected his opponents and was always quick to forgive his enemies), but most of all, he was a runner." He didn't have the mega endorsements of today, modern technology - shoes, supplements - and training programs. He also had to fight stereotypes and prejudice his entire life.

Voted the #1 Canadian sports figure of the 20th century by Maclean's Magazine, he was one of the most celebrated athletes in the country's history and is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. If he were alive in this day and age, Tom Longboat might well have been the Olympic marathon champion in Beijing this year.