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©Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of
Fame
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Running Today: Early Twentieth Century: Michael Thomas
MICHAEL THOMAS, Micmac, Prince Edward Island,
Canada
At the height of his career,
Michael Thomas was the most dominant distance runner in
eastern Canada. He was the first of several Micmac runners
from Prince Edward Island to achieve prominence in his
sport.
Born in 1885, Thomas did not begin his running career until
his mid-twenties; when he did, he achieved instant success.
He was the surprise winner of the first race he entered, a
10-mile "marathon" held on Prince Edward Island in 1909.
That victory earned him the nickname "Island Longboat," a
reference to the great
Tom
Longboat, whose own success had inspired Thomas to take
up running.
As a member of the Abegweit Amateur Athletic Association,
Thomas continued his winning ways through the 1909 and 1910
seasons. In 1910, he was the victor in the 10-mile
"marathon" in Halifax, Nova Scotia. So impressive was
Thomas' performance against the region's top runners that
the Abegweit track club sponsored his entry in the Boston
Marathon the following spring.
Thomas was among the pre-race favorites and rumors swirled
that Tom Longboat, the 1907 champion, would act as his
coach. However, misfortune befell Thomas in his first and
only full-length marathon. Just six miles into the race, the
bicyclist assigned to supply Thomas with refreshments was
involved in a crash. Left on his own, determined, but
dehydrated, the runner finished 26th among 127 starters, in
a time of 2:50:01 2/5.
Returning home, Thomas continued his reign as eastern
Canada's top distance runner. In 1912, in front of 35,000
spectators, he again won the 10-mile Halifax "marathon," for
an unprecedented third consecutive year.
Remembered as a great man on and off the race course,
Michael Thomas was posthumously inducted into the Prince
Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.
-Contributed by Michael O'Grady
Sources:
Ballem, H. Charles
1981 Michael Thomas, Distance Runner. The Island Magazine
10: 3-7.
1986 Abegweit Dynasty: The Story of the Abegweit Amateur
Athletic Association 1899- 1954. The Prince Edward Island
Museum and Heritage Foundation, Charlottetown.
Additional information was supplied through the generosity
of Wayne Wright, Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of
Fame.
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Prince Edward Island Sports
Hall of Fame
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