STRATFORD, P.E.I. – More than 140 participants, including 30 youth, took part in the third annual Michael Thomas Race Day Saturday in Stratford, marking a record number of participants.
“It was an extra special race for a group of women from the Learn To Run Program in Kensington who selected Michael Thomas Race Day as their target race,” said Lynn Anne Hogan, manager of the Aboriginal Sport Circle, the group which organized the event.
Funds from the race will support the delivery of sport programs for Indigenous youth in P.E.I.
The conditions proved to be favourable for many runners who managed to capture personal best times.
The top-three finishers in the 10-mile run were Tyler Read (1:04:04), Kristie Newson (1:08:53) and Alex Bain (1:09:05). The top-three finishers in the five-kilometre race were Aivar Koppel (19:06), Rob Binns (19:42) and Evan Johnson (19:53).
Thomas was born on Lennox Island in 1885 and began running competitively in his 20s. He went on to win the Charlottetown Patriot 10-mile race in 1909, 1910 and 1911 in addition to numerous other races around the Maritimes. In 1911, Michael Thomas was the first Islander to ever run the Boston Marathon.
