Trust. Integrity. Reputation.
June - 2007Runners mark anniversary of Longboat win
By Laura Suthers
Windspeaker Staff Writer
BOSTON
A century has passed since he stunned the world with his win at the Boston Marathon, but to this day many athletes continue to be inspired by the unforgettable Tom Longboat.
Longboat quickly became an international star after winning the Boston Marathon in world record time on April 19, 1907, beating the previously posted record by five minutes.
Born on the Six Nations reserve on June 4, 1887, Longboat was a member of the Onondaga Nation.
He competed in his first competitive race at the 1905 annual Victoria Day five-mile race in Caledonia. A year later, he beat out John Marsh, an English favourite, in Hamilton's Around the Bay road race.
He went on to compete in many more mile races and marathons, shattering world records along the way, and becoming known as the greatest distance runner ever seen.
For current-day athletes like Jason Loutitt, a marathoner and mountain runner, Tom Longboat's success as a runner, and all that he accomplished, "is truly incredible."
"Longboat kind of did what hadn't been done before," Jason said. "It hadn't been done before he accomplished it and it hasn't been done since he accomplished it.
"He owned every record between the mile and the marathon and to be able to perform on both levels is something unheard of. To be a marathon runner and still be good at the mile distance, it just can't be done. There's certain ways your body can develop. But he was the world champion at all those disciplines at one time."
When the First World War broke out, Longboat enlisted, but still continued to race-in competitions and exhibition matches set up for the forces, and in his role as a dispatch runner, delivering messages between posts when communications were down.
When he returned home after the war, he found that professional racing was not what it once was, and he walked away from racing for good, but his many accomplishments have stood the test of time and he is still considered a role model by many of today's young athletes, including Jason, who travelled to Boston in April as part of Team Longboat, a group of Aboriginal athletes who competed in the annual marathon as a way of marking the centenary of Longboat's historic win.
Jason's cousin, Shannon Loutitt, has also been inspired by the Longboat legacy-so much so that she decided to co-ordinate Team Longboat, and a number of special events in the days leading up to the April 16 run day in order to commemorate the anniversary of Longboat's Boston Marathon victory.
"For me, my involvement initially was just to qualify and run in honour of Tom Longboat," said Shannon. "My main goal changed from just running the marathon to actually being able to help the world remember and also to honour Tom Longboat's family. And that was the biggest thing, to show honour to his family."
She tracked down Longboat's only surviving daughter, 87-year-old Phyllis Winnie, as well as Longboat's grandson, Brian Winnie, and two great-granddaughters, Nicole DiGiacomo and Jessica Hazard, and flew them out to Boston so they could be there for the marathon. But Longboat's family members weren't prepared for what awaited them when they arrived.
"My husband, my son and I acted as ambassadors to the Longboat family and that was just an experience I can't even explain," said Shannon.
The highlight of the commemoration for Shannon came at an event she had co-ordinated with the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) on April 14, where Longboat would be given an honourable mention during an exclusive VIP champions breakfast. What happened that Saturday morning is something that Shannon hadn't expected and will never forget.
The BAA invited the Longboat family to the breakfast, and all of the past marathon champions were called up on stage. Then they called for Phyllis. They asked her to stand front and centre and then placed Tom Longboat's trophy in front of her.
"That's when the media went nuts," Shannon said. "There was just flashes and flashes. I was like, this is it. This is what was supposed to happen," she said. "I looked at the granddaughters and Brian and their tears were welling up, as were mine. Everything that I had worked for, everything that my family and I had put in, just all of the energy, this is what made it.
"That moment started an explosion of coverage on Tom and it was that picture that was on the front cover of the Boston Herald. We tried to get a copy the next morning but they were sold out."
The Longboat family attended a few more events, and also helped Shannon prepare for the marathon, a race that almost didn't happen because of stormy weather.
"The weather warnings were just incredible and the entire east coast was put on an emergency alert and stand by," said Shannon.
"The BAA gave the OK for the race to happen, but it was a run at your own risk type of thing. About 3,200 athletes dropped out immediately before the start of the race and there would be about 300 more who wouldn't make it past the finish line for various reasons."
Longboat was only 19-years-old-just six weeks shy of his 20th birthday-when he braved the wet and cold weather of the 1907 Boston Marathon.
"Phyllis said that her dad was definitely there because of the wonderful weather we had," said Shannon. "I had a flu and sinus infection and an ear infection that day and to go out in that weather was something else."
Before Shannon and her family set out on their journey, an Elder prayed and blessed some ceremonial cloth and told Shannon to have Longboat's great-granddaughters braid it into her hair on the day of the race, which they gladly agreed to do.
"It was like they were giving me a piece of themselves, and up until that time I didn't really understand the significance of doing this," said Shannon.
"My tears are welling up right now just thinking about it. That was one of the more moving experiences for me because I knew that morning it would be the last time I saw them because they were scheduled to fly out that Monday morning before I would finish the marathon."
Once the race was over, Shannon got a call from the Longboat family members, telling her that all flights out of Boston were cancelled. Just two days earlier Shannon had joked with them that if their flight was cancelled, she would drive them home.
"That joke actually became a reality," said Shannon. "That drive home was a cross between a vacation movie and something very sacred. It was so meaningful, so bonding, that nine hour trip to Buffalo."
They arrived at Phyllis' home quite late and Phyllis offered to let Shannon and her family spend the night.
"Phyllis said to me, 'You ran this marathon for my dad, I want you to stay in my room,'" said Shannon. "My husband and I looked at each other and I'm conflicting because I don't want to put her out, but then I don't want to dishonour her. So, we slept in Phyllis's room with pictures of her father all around us. I had one of the most restful sleeps I ever had."
Once Shannon returned home to Saskatoon, she received a text message from Jessica, who told her she had just finished a two-mile walk and had set her sights on taking up running, and possibly even running in the Boston Marathon some day, following in her great-grandfather's footsteps.
"It was really a life changing experience for this family," said Shannon.
"They told us so many times when we were in Boston how grateful they were to us, but I'm the one that feels so honoured and so grateful to them. They don't know how important they are to us and how they are like royalty to us. I'm just so amazed by this family and I'm crying again so I'm going to shut up."