Google honors runner Tom Longboat with Doodle

June 4 (UPI) -- Google is celebrating what would have been the the 131st birthday of Canadian long-distance runner Tom Longboat with a new Doodle.

Longboat, a member of the Onondaga Nation who was born in 1887 on Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario, began his running career as a teenager after being inspired by First Nations runner Bill Davis.

Longboat would go on to win the Boston Marathon in 1907 making him the first member of the First Nations to do so. The marathoner, considered one of Canada's greatest athletes, won consistently and broke multiple world records as he caught flack for how he trained which involved the rotating of hard workouts, easy workouts and recovery days.

"During his professional racing career, Longboat also served in the Canadian Army as a dispatch runner in World War I," Google said of Longboat's career. "He largely ran across France, delivering messages between military posts. This was dangerous work, and he was actually mistakenly declared dead twice during his service! Once he finished his service for the military, he retired to the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, where he lived for the remainder of his life."

June 4th also represents Tom Longboat Day in Ontario.

Google's homepage features an animated drawing of Longboat running alongside a city and the national symbol of Canada, the maple leaf.