By Ed Alexander
Ultramarathon World

Hamilton, Ontario (UW) - On November 3, 1967, some 17,000 otherwise normal human beings started out in Hamilton, Ontario's first Miles for Millions March. By the end of the day, more than 10,000 of them had finished the 35 mile (56.32 km) route, raising some $192,000 for six charities in Africa.

The event originated from a challenge to the City of Hamilton from the City of Winnipeg which had first held this event the previous year. The result was that Hamilton not only smashed its own goal of raising $100,000 by some $92,000, but had both vastly greater numbers and finishing percentages than any other city participating in the country-wide event, including Toronto where only 264 out of 2,000 finished.

Among those who finished the Hamilton event were then Mayor Victor Copps and his 17 year old daughter Sheila who is now the Member of Parliament for Hamilton East and a prominent national cabinet minister. The youngest recorded finisher was Wayne Turner, age 10, and the first finisher was Jim Beisley, 33, a member of Hamilton Olympic Club, in a time of 5:35.

The route started at Hamilton City Hall on Main Street, proceeded east on Main, then King, to Stoney Creek, thence north on Grays Road, back west along Barton, north on Woodward, then along Beach Boulevard to Burlington, turning west again until it turned north on Howard, Lemonville, and then York Road all the way to Dundas, where it eventually intersected Main Street which it then followed back to the start.

21,000 finishers

The event was not held in 1968, but took place again on May 3, 1969, tracing pretty much the same route, but in reverse. This time, 30,000 persons turned out, and 21,000 actually finished, raising an incredible $250,000. A challenge had been issued to Toronto, but there is no evidence in the archive that they ever responded.

For the 1970 edition, a new, safer and shorter 30 mile route farther to the west of the city was devised. The event was gaining such status that two-time finisher Mayor Copps was able to secure a $15 pledge from then Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Who says the Federal Government ignores Hamilton?

"They're just like a plague of locusts," commented one spectator (the marchers, not the Federal Government).

Though the 1970 event raised $317,000, that things were beginning to be a bit much for organizers began to be evidenced in some of the sadder things that happened during the event, including theft from stores along the way, a 13 year old boy who overdosed from LSD, and the rape of a 12 year old girl (the perpetrator was quickly apprehended), together with complaints of garbage, minor vandalism and trampled flowerbeds along the route.

Route change

Perhaps fed up with the whiners in the Hamilton suburbs of Flamborough, Dundas, and Ancaster through which the route went the previous year, 1971 organizers returned the course to Hamilton, but kept the shorter 30 mile format for the May 7 event.

This time Mayor Copps received 25 cents a mile from Ontario Premier Bill Davis (who says that Hamilton is ignored by the provincial government?) and six Stoney Creek students pushed a VW Beetle around the entire route for pledges totaling $60.00. The first finisher was Peter MacDonald in a time of 4:40.

However, inclement weather reduced the expected 20,000 to 15,000 and donations dropped to a "mere" $150,000.

This "downhill trend" continued in the 1972 event. Showing symptoms induced by the undoubtedly overwhelming logistical problems, organizers shortened the route to 26 miles for the event which was held on May 13. Nonetheless, the turnout of 15,000 equaled the previous year as did receipts of $150,000.

Evidently, this was ultimately unequal to the effort expended by organizers, and the event was never held again.

$4 million today

Think of it: in five years, $1,065,000.00 was raised by some 100,000 persons of whom at least 65,000 covered the full distance of 156 miles. In 2001 dollars, using a simple factor of four, this is over $4 million. Events in which participants walk or run more than the standard marathon distance of 26.2 miles are known today as ultramarathons, a name which was most likely coined after the demise of the Miles for Millions phenomenon.

However, in the world today, there are only one or two such events which exceed more than 2,000 to 3,000 participants, and at most five or six in the 1,000 to 3,000 range, of which only one is in North America (the long standing JFK 50 mile event in Maryland which was started shortly after J.F. Kennedy called upon Americans to walk 50 miles back in the early 1960's). The vast majority of these events barely attract 50-60 comers in North America, and more than 100 puts one in "the big-leagues."

So where are they now, those thousands who, for the most part without any serious training or preparation, naively started out to cover 35 miles in a day as if they had no idea how far it really was? The finishing percentage of around 70% (based on numbers reported for first two events) compares very favourably with that of any 100 mile event held today, except that the vast majority of persons entering the latter will spend up to ten years or more building up their stamina before even attempting such an event.

How is it that what seemed such a natural and unpresumptious thing to do for such a great mass of people (the equivalent of approximately 7% of the population in the greater Hamilton area took part) has now become an "extreme" sport, the domain of eccentric, obsessive, or even masochistic athletes?

Postscript

I would like to thank my running partner Gord Harthun who brought this remarkable event to my attention, and his sister Marla and Janette Whitham who also took part in Miles for Millions and who encouraged me by the light that came on in their eyes when I mentioned the event. Also to Gord for retrieving the whole archive on the five events from the Hamilton Spectator, upon which I gleaned the information contained in the foregoing article.

(Ultramarathon World: http://fox.nstn.ca/~dblaikie)
(Ed Alexander: edsells@idirect.com) (19 November 2001)

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