years before he enlisted in World War I, Long- boat was among the premier long-distance runners in the world. With Longboat, the Boston Marathon be- came the springboard for Northeast Natives aiming at the supreme challenge, the Olympic marathon, revived in the first modern Olym- pics in 1896, a year before the Boston Ath- letic Association inaugurated the first Boston Marathon. His win in Boston made him the favorite for the 1908 Olympics in London. But only half the entrants were able to finish the race, run in August through the steamy streets of London, and Longboat himself collapsed from heat exhaustion. He turned professional shortly after, missing a chance at the 1912 games in Stockholm, Sweden. The U.S. favorite for the 1912 Olympics
was now Andrew Sockalexis, Penobscot from the Indian Island reservation in Maine. In 1911, Sockalexis decided to make Boston his first official marathon. He finish 37th
. In
1912, he placed second, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team. His teammates included Jim Thorpe and Louis Tewanima, two of the greatest track-and-field athletes of all time. At the Stockholm Olympics that July, Sock- alexis finished fourth in the marathon, run in 90-degree heat. He later stated that he had over-trained. Sockalexis was initially trained by his fa-
ther, Francis, who held the honorary distinc- tion in Penobscot society as a “pure man,” a fleet-of-foot young man who demonstrated great endurance in tracking down moose, deer and other game. His cousin Louis was one of the earliest American Indians to play Major League baseball (his team the Cleveland Spiders later became the Cleveland Indians). To build stamina, Andrew would run several times each day around the 7.5- square-mile island reservation. Sockalexis trained all year round, including running outdoors in the harsh Maine winters. He would even run with spikes on the nearby frozen Penobscot River. After showing great promise, he was instruct- ed in running techniques and race strategies by Tim Daley of Bangor and by Arthur Smith, the track coach at the University of Maine. In 1913, Sockalexis once again participated
in the Boston Marathon. This race attracted 200,000 spectators, the largest up to that time, who lined the course’s route. Sockalexis moved into second place just one mile from the finish line, but couldn’t catch the eventual winner, Fritz Carlson of Minneapolis. Sockalexis continued to race for the next
four years. His last victory in long-distance running was against his friend Clarence
42 AMERICAN INDIAN SPRING 2017
Olympic athletes from the U.S. team return to New York from Stockholm, Sweden, 1912. Thomas H. Lilley (1887–1954), second from right, and Andrew Sockalexis (Penobscot) (1891–1919), far right. Both competed in the marathon. Bain News Service, publisher, 1912. Courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Bain Collection.
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