A Legacy Taking the Streets of Ottawa
Ottawa is about to witness one of the most poignant storylines in Canadian running history this Race Weekend, as Kristian Jamieson takes to the course with more than a finish line on his mind — he's chasing a piece of his great-great-grandfather's legacy.
Kristian is the great-great-grandson of Tom Longboat, the Onondaga Nation runner from Six Nations of the Grand River who, in 1907, became the first Indigenous person to win the Boston Marathon — crossing the line in a then-record time that stunned the world and cemented his name in sporting history.
Now, more than a century later, Kristian Jamieson is stepping up to Ottawa's iconic marathon course with a singular goal: to match that record-breaking time.
Who Was Tom Longboat?
For those unfamiliar with the name, Tom Longboat is one of Canada's greatest and most underappreciated sports heroes. Born in 1887 on the Six Nations reserve near Brantford, Ontario, Longboat was a phenomenon — a distance runner whose talent defied the era's limits on what anyone thought the human body could do over 26 miles.
His 1907 Boston Marathon win was not just a personal triumph. It was a statement. In a period when Indigenous peoples faced enormous systemic discrimination, Longboat ran faster than everyone else on the planet and did it on the world's biggest stage. He went on to compete internationally, dominate professional racing circuits, and serve in the First World War — a life as remarkable off the course as on it.
For the Longboat family, that legacy isn't just history. It's a living inheritance.
Kristian Jamieson's Mission This Weekend
Ahead of the race, Kristian spoke with CBC Ottawa Morning host Rebecca Zandbergen about what this run means to him — and the weight of carrying a name that belongs to Canadian athletic folklore.
Matching a 1907 record is no small ask. The course conditions, timing technology, and training science of that era were wildly different from today, but the benchmark stands as a marker of extraordinary ability. That Kristian is not just participating but aiming to replicate that standard speaks to both his physical preparation and the depth of his motivation.
Ottawa Race Weekend as a Stage for Storytelling
Ottawa Race Weekend draws tens of thousands of runners and spectators every spring, filling the downtown core with energy along routes that wind past Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal, and through the city's historic neighbourhoods. It's one of the largest running events in Canada and a celebration that the whole city tends to show up for.
This year, those crowds will have an extra reason to watch closely — keeping an eye out for a young man running with the spirit of a legend at his heels.
Whether or not Kristian Jamieson matches his great-great-grandfather's pace, the act of showing up — of honouring that lineage in front of Ottawa and Canada — is already something worth cheering.
Source: CBC Ottawa / CBC Ottawa Morning with Rebecca Zandbergen
