John C. Miles, (October 30, 1905 – June 15, 2003) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

marathon runner. He won the Boston Marathon in 1926 and 1929.

Early life

Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, as a child he moved with his family to Florence, Nova Scotia, a coal town located near Sydney Mines on Cape Breton Island. When his father enlisted in the armed forces in 1916, at age 11 he helped to support his family by working in the coal mines during the evening shift and continuing at school during daytime. As a teenager he was coached by his father and won local races. He went on to win the Canadian five-mile (8 km) championship when it was held in Halifax in 1925. He also won the

Halifax Herald ''The Chronicle Herald'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada owned by SaltWire Network of Halifax. The paper's newsroom staff were locked out of work from January 2016 until August 2017. ''Herald'' management cont ...

competition in the same year. As a young man, Miles worked various temporary jobs, including a stint in northern Ontario. When he won the Halifax races, he was employed in a colliery blacksmith's shop. He was then offered employment with the British Canadian Cooperative Store. For them, Miles delivered groceries to local customers and country stores by horse and wagon. To stay in shape he would run behind the wagon wearing heavy boots.

Boston Marathons

In 1926 Miles's neighbours raised a few hundred dollars to send him to the Boston Marathon by train. This would be Miles's debut marathon, having never run a race longer than 10 miles. The field at the 1926 Boston Marathon included four-time winner Clarence DeMar and 1924 Olympic champion

Albin Stenroos Oskar Albinus "Albin" Stenroos (24 February 1889 – 30 April 1971) was a Finnish runner, who won the marathon at the 1924 Olympics. Stenroos ran his first marathon in 1909, placing third at the national championships, but then moved to shorte ...

, whom Miles idolized. Miles arrived at the marathon as an unknown, competing in a handmade singlet adorned with a maple leaf and the letters "NS" for Nova Scotia and a pair of 98-cent sneakers. Stenroos attempted to break away after the first few miles, leaving DeMar behind. Miles stayed with him until Heartbreak Hill, at which point he passed him. Miles completed the race in a time of 2:25:40. His time was so fast that the course was remeasured and found to be 176 yards short. Miles attempted to defend his title at the 1927 Boston Marathon, but dropped out early due to problems with his shoes. In 1929 Miles returned to Boston and won the marathon in a time of 2:33:08. Miles competed in two more Boston Marathons, never finishing higher than 10th.

Other competitions

Between his two wins in Boston, Miles won the Canadian 10000 metre championship in 1928. He later won a bronze medal in the marathon at the

1930 British Empire Games The 1930 British Empire Games were the inaugural edition of what now is known as the Commonwealth Games, and were held in Hamilton, Ontario, from 16 to 23 August 1930. The games were organized by ''Hamilton Spectator'' sportswriter Bobby Robinso ...

. He represented Canada at the 1928 Summer Olympics and finished 17th in the 1928 Olympic marathon. Four years later at the 1932 Summer Olympics he finished 14th in the Olympic marathon race.

Later life

After the 1932 Olympics, Miles retired from competition. He had moved to Hamilton, Ontario in 1927 and, while training for the 1928 Olympics, he found work as a labourer for International Harvester. He subsequently worked for them as an inspector and foreman and then as a manager in France and in Chicago. He retired home to Canada in 1971.Williston, ''Johnny Miles'', pp. 48, 62, 80-86. In 1982, he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame. Miles died at age 97 in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

. At the time of his death, he was Canada's oldest living Olympic athlete and the oldest Boston Marathon winner. In 2018 Miles was named by the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame as one of the greatest 15 athletes in Nova Scotia's history, ranking seventh.

Tributes

Since 1975 the Johnny Miles Marathon has been held in

New Glasgow, Nova Scotia New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,075 ...

in his honour. An annual 5K race is also held in his honour in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. Sydney Mines also displays his image on a sign at the entrance of the town and a statue of Miles is displayed on Main St.

References