Indigenous runner follows in footsteps of ancestor as he gears up for 2025 Boston Marathon run

Kristian Jamieson says he loves to push himself beyond his limits. 

It's that determination which led the 22-year-old student at Western University's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry in London, Ont., to qualify for next year's Boston Marathon. 

"Finding out that I was able to qualify, I was essentially on cloud nine. All the hard work and preparation leading up to that day, it finally paid off," said Jamieson about the moment he received the news after a race last week. 

"It was just a mixture of emotions. There were tears of joy and there were tears of agony and pain after the run, but there's no better feeling than when you cross that finish line. It's truly remarkable."

Jamieson finished a 42-kilometre run 2:52:55 at a marathon in his hometown of Niagara Falls on June 15. With his time being less than three hours, Jamieson became a contender for Boston. 

Competing in the marathon is more than just a lifelong dream for Jamieson. It also runs in his family as he is a great, great-grandson of legendary Onondaga runner Tom Longboat, from Six Nations of the Grand River near Brantford, Ont., who won the Boston Marathon in 1907. 

Longboat's record-breaking victory took him to the 1908 Olympics in London, England at the age of 21. An opportunity to carry on the runner's legacy is deeply meaningful, said Jamieson, who also grew up on the Six Nations Reserve.  

"When I found out I was related to a Canadian Hall of Fame runner, I really took that as motivation to see how far I could take this running. The goal is to be able to follow in his footsteps by doing the same races that he competed in," he said.

"It's nice to know everyone back home is rooting for me and cheering me on. It adds more meaning and purpose to this whole running journey."

First race a full marathon

Jamieson started running to keep active during the COVID-19 pandemic because he wanted a hobby that would challenge him both physically and mentally. It started off slow but before he knew it, Jamieson was up to 10 kilometres a day, he said. 

He wakes up at 4 a.m. and runs for a few hours every morning, in order to balance work from his dentistry program with sport. 

His first race was a full marathon, which Jamieson says is very unique to his journey as a runner. Last year, he placed second in the Niagara Ultra marathon with a 3:15 finish time, which made Jamieson realize there's "some natural talent that must be explored," he said. 

"I quickly fell in love with running and I went at it guns blazing. Most individuals will begin with a 5K, 10K or a half marathon, but I threw myself into the deep end."

Jamieson's coach Derek Silva was tracking him during his latest run last week and immediately called him to break the news. The moment was nothing short of exciting, Silva said. 

"[Boston] is the biggest most historic marathon in the whole world, it's something that every runner has on their bucket list and Kristian has qualified for that," he said. "It's just so impressive for such a young athlete and I was ecstatic for him."

The pair will spend the next ten months training for the marathon in April with more intense workouts, rest periods and increasing Jamieson's mileage. In November, he'll run a marathon in Hamilton to prepare for Boston.