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Who is Tom Longboat? Canada's Human Running Machine!

tom longboat, the human running machine. photo of runner next to a large trophy
Caption

Tom Longboat poses with his many impressive trophies.

Photo Credit
Charles A. Ablett/Library and Archives Canada/C-014090
Subhead

Tom Longboat Could Go the Distance--Whatever It Was

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Who is Tom Longboat? No one could have foreseen the future that would unfold for a baby boy born on June 4, 1887, to the Longboat family at the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario.

Tom Longboat, Runner Extraordinaire

The parents, members of the Onondaga tribe, gave the baby the Native name Cogwagee, meaning 鈥淓verything鈥 and named him Tom.

From his earliest years, Longboat loved to run. He ran to work in the fields and ran to collect the tribe鈥檚 cows and herd them home. When his parents sent him away to a school for Natives, he was so unhappy that he ran back home鈥攁bout 12 miles.

At age 17, Longboat entered the Victoria Day 5-mile race in Caledonia. He finished second, and losing convinced him to train harder.

Longboat went everywhere on foot, and his family often didn鈥檛 believe his tales of how far and fast he had run鈥攗ntil he beat his brother to Hamilton, some 20 miles distant, even though his brother had had a head start and driven a horse and buggy!

In 1906, Longboat entered the Victoria Day race again, and this time he won. Watching him was Bill Davis, another Native runner, who soon became his coach.

Later that year, Davis entered Longboat in the 19-mile 鈥淎round the Bay鈥 race in Hamilton. Spectators placed wagers on runners, although few bet on Longboat. Some laughed at him. On Davis鈥檚 advice, Longboat followed the pace of the race favorite, John Marsh. It was a strategy that worked: Longboat won and nearly broke the course record. As he won more races that year, he began to make headlines.

On April 19, 1907, a cold, rainy, sleety day, Longboat ran the biggest race of his life鈥攖he Boston (Massachusetts) Marathon, then a 25-mile course. Reporters, some of whom had nicknamed Longboat 鈥淭he Speedy Son of the Forest,鈥 鈥淭he Indian Iron Man,鈥 and 鈥淭he Running Machine,鈥 begged to interview him. Thousands turned out to watch 124 runners compete. 

Longboat led from the start, with Charlie Petch, also a Canadian, dogging him. He was so worried that Petch might get ahead of him that he skipped several breaks for lemons and tea. 

tom longboat running a race

After 22 miles, the runners arrived at the foot of Heartbreak Hill, a series of famously steep climbs. Here, Longboat pulled ahead of Petch and secured the lead. The Boston Globe reported that Longboat smiled at the crowd as he passed and described him as 鈥渢he most marvelous runner who has ever sped over our streets.鈥 He ran the last mile in 4 minutes 45 seconds鈥30 seconds shy of the world record of 4:15. 

Spectators cheered and tossed hats, canes, and umbrellas into the air as Longboat crossed the finish line. His time of 2:24:24 was 5 minutes faster than the course record and put him 3/4 of a mile ahead of the second-place finisher. 

Canadians welcomed Longboat home with a victory parade. He rode in an open car to a celebration at Toronto鈥檚 City Hall.

Tom Longboat has been called the greatest marathon runner of all time. He died in 1949 at age 61.

Did You Know?

  • Tom Longboat spent 4 years in the Canadian Army as a runner and message carrier during World War I. (People joked that he could outrun bullets.)
  • The Longboat Roadrunners of Toronto formed in 1980 in Longboat鈥檚 honor. They hold an annual 10k race and award a scholarship at the University of Toronto to a Native Canadian who excels in running.
  • In 1998, a Canadian magazine proclaimed Longboat to be one of the 100 most important Canadians in history. In the category 鈥淪tars,鈥 he was number one, ahead of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and singer Celine Dion.

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About The Author

Judson D. Hale Sr.

Jud Hale is the Editor Emeritus of The Old Farmer鈥檚 蜜桃恋人; Jud was the 12th editor of The Old Farmer鈥檚 蜜桃恋人 (since 1792!) and joined the parent company Yankee Publishing in 1958 as an Assistant Editor. Read More from Judson D. Hale Sr.
 

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