Ten Mile Road Race - History

History

The Ten Mile Road Race in Thunder Bay has a history that dates back to 1910. It is the oldest 10 mile road race in Canada, predating the Tely 10 mile road race held in St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador since 1922. The Fort William Daily Times-Journal, a local newspaper, announced in April 1910 that it would sponsor an annual road race with the purpose of promoting "healthy and clean sport at the head of the lakes". The streets were lined with spectators along the entire route. The inaugural race was won by J.E. Edwards of Port Arthur in a time of 57 minutes.

The Times-Journal went on to provide sponsorship for the race until 1915 when World War I forced the cancellation of the event. It was reinstated in 1920. During the 1930s the race continually drew a great deal of public interest.The number of entrants was consistently higher than in previous years (an average of 30 runners in 1930s vs. an average of 12 runners in the 1920s). During the 1930s, athletes of Finnish descent dominated the top three positions consistently.

World War II caused the race to end for 10 years. On Victoria Day 1949, one decade after the last race, the Ten Mile Road race was revived and organized by Branch 6 of the Royal Canadian Legion. A mere seven runners toed the line in that race, the lowest turnout ever. In the 1950s the race was not held as interest waned.

In 1963, Branch 6 revived the Ten Mile Road Race one more time. Competitors and the public demonstrated that there was renewed interest in the race. Since 1963 the numbers have increased steadily to over 700 runners in 2008. In 2009 the race had 714 individual runners and 150 more for relays.

In 1968, the first female competitor ran in the Ten Mile Road Race: Frances Blanche of Marathon, Ontario. Awards and separate categories for female runners were not initiated until the late 1970s. The fastest time to date for a local female athlete is Sue Kainulainen (58:30 in 1984). She went on to win the women's division seven times.

In 1970, the event took on a higher profile as it became the National 10 Mile Championship. Many of the country's top runners traveled to Thunder Bay and provided some of the fastest and most competitive racing the event has ever seen The field of runners was so strong that it would be the first year no local area runner would finish in the top three positions.

The nature of the race gradually began to expand, from a highly competitive elite event to one encompassing runners of all ability levels. This took place with the beginning of the running boom in the 1970s. Up until this time, the largest number of participants was about 80. Into the 1980s, the numbers of participants increased to 300 or so runners taking on the 10 mile distance.

In 1989 Lakehead University sponsored the race with the help of Branch 6 of the Royal Canadian Legion and other supporters. They continued their sponsorship for the next five years. Bell Canada came on board in 1992 and 1993. The torch was then passed to Shoppers Drug Mart who contributed financial and volunteer support for the next 10 years. In 2004, the 71st running of the 10 Mile Road Race welcomed the Thunder Bay Professional Firefighters Association as the next title sponsor. In 2009, Half Way Motors stepped forward to become a presenting sponsor with the Firefighters continuing as the title sponsors.

In 1981, a pre-race pasta dinner was added to the venue. It has continued to attract runners, organizers, volunteers along with their families and friends to come together to dine and share stories of past races.