Kristian Jamieson, the great-great-grandson of running legend Tom Longboat, talks on the phone with his father after crossing the finish line on Monday. He finished in 2:33:48, behind Mr. Longboat's winning time of 2:24:24.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Globe and Mail
Kristian Jamieson crossed the Boston Marathon finish line Monday morning in 2:33:48, less than 10 minutes off his great-great-grandfather Tom Longboat’s 1907 Boston Marathon-winning time.
For Mr. Jamieson, still elated after crossing the tape, it was a six-minute personal best.
“Oh my God, that was crazy, crazy, crazy. I was running up Heartbreak Hill, chuckling to myself and thinking of Tom, knowing I have his blood in me,” said Mr. Jamieson, a 24-year-old elite marathon runner from Six Nations of the Grand River reserve outside Brantford, Ont. “I reminded myself on the course that the Boston Marathon is Tom’s marathon and I’m continuing it – I proved that I’m keeping his legacy alive.”
Mr. Jamieson, 24, says he wants to beat Mr. Longboat's record before he turns 25.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Globe and Mail
The 130th Boston Marathon was won by John Korir in a record-breaking time of 2:01:52. (Mr. Korir is the brother of former Boston-winner Wesley Korir, married to Canadian distance runner Tarah Korir, and the family divides their time between Kenya and Waterloo.) Rory Linkletter was the first Canadian finisher in a time of 2:06:04.
At Boston Marathon, Indigenous runner hopes to channel the icon in his bloodline
Mr. Jamieson, a third-year student at Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University, says he often thought about Mr. Longboat, a First World War veteran and residential school survivor, during the final kilometres of his race. He says he uses his family legacy for inspiration and even envisioned running against Mr. Longboat on the notoriously hilly, difficult course.
“Honestly, those hills are tough. You have to do anything you can mentally to get through them so I pretended I was chasing Tom,” said Mr. Jamieson, who ran the Boston Marathon in Nike Alphafly shoes. “In my mind, Tom was in front of me running up the hills and that kept me pushing – I was trying not to get dropped by him!”
In the buildup to his race, Mr. Jamieson ran seven days a week, often twice a day, and averaged more than 160 kilometres a week during his peak training. He says his workouts combined long slow Sunday morning runs of distances between 30 and 38 kilometres (and once the full 42), with twice-a-day workouts on Tuesday, which he calls threshold runs.
“Threshold runs are where you can hold your pace for an hour and are faster than your marathon race pace,” said Mr. Jamieson, who averaged 3:37 a kilometre in Boston. He adds that by running patiently in the race’s first half, he was able to pass fellow runners in the marathon’s gruelling last stretch.
“I put so much into this training block and now I want to run more mileage, run faster. I know I have it in me to get one step closer to Tom.”
Tom Longboat takes part in a race at Hanlan's Point in Toronto in 1921. He won the Boston Marathon almost 120 years ago, in 1907.Turofsky/Supplied
Mr. Longboat’s Boston Marathon-winning time was 2:24:24 and that became Mr. Jamieson’s holy grail. This October at the Niagara Falls International Marathon, he wants to beat Mr. Longboat’s time before he turns 25.
“I knew I was going to shine this morning and know I can run faster,” said Mr. Jamieson, who added before heading off for his hot shower and pepperoni pizza that he has a message for friends and family back home at Six Nations of the Grand River reserve.
“During the race, I thought about Tom, but also about everyone back home who supported me and believed in me and I know lots of us feel like we have something to prove,” Mr. Jamieson said.
“I knew I was going to do something special before the Boston Marathon even started. Our community just needs to keep thinking: Longboat strong.”