—Yes, I have a few good friends in this school.

—I think Mike will be very happy.

—I think so.

—The lady who is talking with my father is my English teacher.

    Tom Longboat had always been fast. He learned to run as a young boy on the Six Nations Grand River Reserve in Ontario, Canada. He ran a long distance each day to get to school or to visit his family and friends.

    Sometimes running was the easiest part of Tom Longboat's life. As an aboriginal(土著的) athlete, life was hard for him. Other people tried to control how he trained and where he raced. But he chose to depend on his own spirit, mind and body, and would never back down.

    Tom Longboat won the Boston-Marathon in 1907 with a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes and 24 seconds, 4 minutes and 59 seconds faster than the world record(纪录) at that time. The Boston newspaper said he was the most excellent runner who had sped over their roads.

    He took part in the Olympics and won many international marathons.

    His spirit lives on. Every year, the best aboriginal athlete in Canada is given the Tom Longboat Award.