One of the greatest marathon runners of all time, Tom Longboat was one of the best-known athletes of the western world in the early 20th century.*Longboat was an astonishing long-distance runner who grew up on the Six Nations reserve near Brantford, Ontario.*He won the Boston Marathon in record time, 2:24.24, almost five minutes faster than the 10 previous winners.*Longboat then raced in the Olympic Marathon in 1908, but he collapsed on the course amid rumours that his manager had drugged him with strychnine.*At a rematch the following year in New York City, Longboat won the race handily, beating his nearest competitor.*In 1916, Longboat enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces and worked as a dispatch carrier for the 107th Pioneer Battalion in France.*He was left for dead on the battlefield, but somehow survived and returned to Canada only to discover that his wife, Lauretta, thinking he was dead, had remarried.*Longboat's independent spirit and passion for running carried him through the many difficulties he faced as an Aboriginal person.*His enduring legacy has been honoured with the Tom Longboat Awards, established in 1951 to celebrate outstanding First Nations athletes in Canada.*He is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the Indian Hall of Fame.