Tom Longboat
Onandaga distance runner Tom Longboat (Cogwagee) was born on June 4, 1887, on the Six Nations of the Grand River Indian Reserve near Brantford, Ont.
He began racing on Victoria Day in 1905 and in 1906 he had his first important win in Hamilton at the Around the Bay road race, beating the favoured English runner John Marsh with ease. He won a 15-mile road race in Toronto ten days later by a full three minutes. He went on to win the annual Christmas Day 10 Miler, beating the Canadian record by two and a half minutes.
Longboat was 19 years old (as Alex is this year) when he won the Boston Marathon on April 19, 1907, in 2:24:24, shattering John Caffrey's previous record by almost five minutes (4:59).
CBC has a nice article on Tom Longboat, Commemorating a Milestone
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/exercise_fitness/marathon-longboat.html
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