The
Story of the Stones: written
by Paul Wilson and published in The Hamilton Spectator.
In Wiltshire, England, there is Stonehenge, a puzzling circle of 83
prehistoric standing stones.
In Hamilton, Canada, there are the nearly ancient dark-granite
standing stones
of North America's oldest foot race.
The 'Around the Bay Road Race' is this Sunday, March 25. Thousands
will run the coarse and most won't notice the three surviving mile
markers erected when the race was young.
On a bitter Christamas Day, 1894, 13 men dressed in white shorts and
numbered shirts
set out from Billy Carroll's Cigar Store on James Street North,
with citizens on bikes, horses and in buggies charging along behind.
The
Hamilton Herald newspaper
sponsored the run in the early years. The course is an even 30 km
today, but in the beginning it was 19 miles, 168 yards. And they
measured out the race in rock-solid fashion. Granite markers were
produced, each about six feet tall, with the Herald
name and the mile number engraved on each. They looked like cemetery
stones, fashioned to the last an eternity.
But that was not to be.
In
the mid-1920's, the race disappeared for a decade or so. Maybe, it
was those years that the markers fell. The Spectator carried a short
item December of 1954: “(Hamilton
Beach) Police Chief, Howard Nickling has recovered many old Herald
stones placed to mark the distance across the Beach from the Herald
office when the marathon races were run around Hamilton Bay. They
have been taken with others to the Beach Commission office to keep
as part of the history of the Beach.”
Scott
Howley wonders what happened to those stones that landed at the Beach
Commission. But he does know the story of how one race marker on the
Beach got liberated. It is the
5-Mile Herald marker.
In the beginning, it may have been along Woodward Avenue. But
somehow, it ended up as a parking curb in the lot at Dynes Tavern, a
Beach landmark built in 1847. The marker, discovered in the late
1980's, the tavern eventually mounted the stone out front of the
establishment. On the evening of July 18, 2007, a band of heritage
freedom fighters showed up at the Dynes with a Bobcat and spirited
that stone to safety. The marker sat in more than one backyard on the
beach, under tarps, for several years. And in the spring of 2011,
the people themselves mounted the stone at the edge of Beach
Boulevard, across from Hamilton Beach Convenience.
And
now in Aldershot, ultra marathoner Les Michalak and others in the
Burlington Runners Club plan to showcase the Herald
Mile 15
stone in a granderway. It stands at the interstection of Plains Road
West, near Spring Gardens Road. But it's partly hidden by overgrown
vegetation. Through GoFundMe, the club has just started to raise
money to move the stone closer to the street and add a bench, a
plaque and some public art.
The
final known survivor, the Herald
Mile 17
stands just south of the High Level Bridge. Behind a chain link
fence, it needs a plaque to tell its story. How about getting that
done for next year, the 125th
anniversary of when those first sturdy souls set off to beat the bay?
Benefits
of Long Distance Running and Marathons
The half-marathon (13.1 miles) is one of the fastest growing race
distances with new races popping up all over the world. Reasons to
give the distance a try:
You'll stay motivated to run.
You'll burn a lot of calories.
You'll experience lots of health benefits.
Yoy'll have a lifetime of bragging rights.
You'll discover new running partners.
You're less likely to get injured than if you travel for a full
marathon.
It's not as time-consuming as training for a marathon.
You'll meet other runners.
You can support a 'cause.'
You'll get a medal and a shirt.
You can travel to new destinations.
Around
the Bay Race Just Around the Corner
(excerpts from Carmela Fragomeni 's writing in the Hamilton
Spectator)
“Our
harbinger of Spring attracts thousands of runners and cheering
spectators
happens
Sunday, starting at 9:30 a.m. on York Boulevard at Bay Street North.
The Around the Bay is a 30-kilometre Hamilton-Burlington course that
is 12 km shorter than a marathon. It follows the outline of
Burlington Bay/Hamilton Harbour and goes through north and east
Hamilton to Beach Boulevard into Burlington and along North Shore
Boulevard back into Hamilton.
It is perhaps one of the most scenic races to run!”
Race director, Anna Lewis says, “It is the oldest race inNorth
America, beginning three years before the Boston Marathon, the first
marathon on the continent. The Around the Bay Race is a great race
to train for local and far marathoners.
“The
Around the Bay Race is iconic because of its rich traditions.
It's a celebrated and momentous community event with family and
friends cheering on the personal triuimphs of loved ones who
paricipate in the run, while fundraising for a good cause.
“The
race dates back to 1894 and attracts participants ranging from
fundraisers and challenge-lovers to elite and Olympic athletes. The
top purse for each of the men's and women's winners is $4,000.
“For
the past 14 years, the race has also been associated with fundraising
for St.Joseph''s Healthcare,which asks participants to raise pledges
for theorganization that includes St. Joseph's hospital inHamlton.
St. Joe's has raised $3.3 million since it became associated with the
race.
“The
money raised goes to support the organization's greatest needs that
year. It could go to patient care or equipment purchases, for
example.
.
This year, there are about 8,500 runners registered so far.
But we expect another 300 to 400 to register on Friday and Saturday
at the free Health and Fitness Expo at First Ontario Place.
On page A6 of The Hamilton Spectator's March 21 `
issue
is a beautifully coloured map depicting the race course
bordering Hamilton Harbour, along the Beach Strip and around
Burlington Bay.
Written by Merle Baird-Kerr...March 21, 2018
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