The Canadian Ski Marathon started life as a centennial project in 1967 and has been held annually since then to the present.
A “centennial project” was a theme developed a few years prior to 1967 by the Government of Canada. The idea was to encourage Canadians to participate in Canada’s 100th birthday celebrations in any way that appealed to them: planting trees, creating parks, fundraising for a special event, organizing sports or arts events or anything else they could think of. Projects could be sponsored by private organizations or by various levels of government – municipal, provincial or federal.
Don MacLeod, an Ottawa resident and member of the Canadian National Cross-Country Ski Team in the 1960s, had skied the 1966 Vasaloppet in Sweden and decided a long ski marathon would be something many Canadians could get enthusiastic about. Don’s day job at the time was organizing the 1967 Voyageur canoe paddle across Canada (a federally-sponsored Centennial project) and although he did not have the blessing of his superiors for the ski marathon, he quietly set about making arrangements with support from the Ottawa Ski Club, as well as his own friends and family. In the end, Don was successful in organizing both the Centennial Voyageur canoe paddle and the inaugural Canadian Ski Marathon.
Start Line
1967 Canadian Ski Marathon
Don MacLeod, Official Starter
Photo credits: Canadian Ski Museum archives
A brown paper bag can be seen in starter Don MacLeod’s left hand. Following is a quote from “Canadian Ski Marathon – its history in story and pictures” written by Bill Pollock:
1967
The legend begins
February 18-20. Very cold -25o C (17o F) ending in a blizzard. 375 skiers. 1,770 kms (1,100 miles) skied.
The first Centennial Marathon Ski Tour was 120 miles (192 kms) long and a 3-day event (about 65 kms per day). It began at the Fairview Shopping Centre in Pointe Claire. No gun was used to start the event; instead, a paper bag was filled with air and “smashed” to create the effect. Barbara MacTaggart, who missed only one marathon up to 1990, recalls how all the journalists and reporters huddled inside the shopping centre at the starting line because of the blistering cold weather.
Source: Canadian Ski Marathon – its history in story and pictures, by Bill Pollock