Tom Longboat descendant, Niagara Falls runner takes on Boston Marathon

Tom Longboat is one of the most heralded Canadian long-distance runners, and his great-great-grandson is hoping to follow in his footsteps.

Kristian Jamieson, 24, just ran the famed Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing with a time of two hours 33 minutes.

It was Jamieson’s second time running the event, besting his time from last year by 34 minutes.

“That goal time is always what I had in the back of my head,” Jamieson says. “Being able to execute that and just having the support of friends and family there and my First Nations community. I couldn’t be happier with it.”

Jamieson grew up in Niagara Falls and in Six Nations.

He only took up running during the pandemic, but the sport is in his blood. He is related to arguably the most famous long-distance runner in Canadian history; his great-great-grandfather was Tom Longboat, who won the Boston Marathon in 1907 and represented Canada at the Olympics the next year.

“The inspiration I get from Tom Longboat, it’s just fuel to the fire that I have and that’s unique to myself,” Jamieson said. “It’s something I think about during the runs, just knowing this historical figure I have a part of that DNA in me, it’s super motivating and makes me want to crush it even harder.”

When his great-great-grandfather won the Boston Marathon, he did so in a then-record time of two hours 24 minutes 24 seconds.

That is the time Jamieson is aiming for in his next event.

“I want to run a fall marathon and the goal is to run Tom Longboat’s time. Run a 2:24 at the age of 24,” he said. “That would be a dream come true to me.”

The dental student at Western University says he is hoping to achieve that time in the Chicago Marathon in October.

WATCH MORE: Niagara Parks looks to attract more local visitors amid rising fuel prices