Bib No. 22471 | April 21, 2025 | Finish Time: 3:44:10 | Overall Place: 5,975

Angela Olsen of Daajing Giids made Haida Gwaii history on Monday, April 21, becoming the first Totem to Totem Marathon runner from the islands to go on and complete the Boston Marathon. Wearing bib number 22471, Olsen crossed the finish line with a time of 3 hours, 44 minutes, and 10 seconds, placing 5,975th overall out of more than 30,000 runners from around the world.

Olsen earned her place at the start line in Boston by qualifying at the 2024 Totem to Totem Marathon in Skidegate. Held each July during Skidegate Days, the annual 42.2-kilometre race begins and ends at the towering totems of the Haida Heritage Centre. In that race, Olsen won the women’s silver medal with a personal-best time of 3:40:00—13 minutes faster than her finish the year prior, and fast enough to meet the Boston Marathon’s qualification standard for her age category.

But qualifying was just one part of the challenge. “Just because you get a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon, it doesn’t mean you automatically get to run the race,” said Anne Seymour, a volunteer organizer for the Totem to Totem. This year, 36,393 runners with qualifying times applied to Boston, but only 24,069 were accepted. To secure a spot, runners had to beat their qualifying time by at least 6 minutes and 51 seconds.

“While Totem to Totem has had runners qualify for Boston over the years, Angela is the first local runner from Haida Gwaii to be accepted,” Seymour said.

The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon, first run in 1897. It’s also one of the six World Marathon Majors, and it’s widely considered one of the toughest to enter. Each April on Patriots’ Day, runners take on a 42.2-kilometre course through several Massachusetts towns, including the notorious Newton hills and “Heartbreak Hill,” a 27-metre climb that hits runners at the 34-kilometre mark.

Olsen’s finish time of 3:44:10 places her well ahead of the average time for female marathoners, which is roughly 4 hours and 8 minutes. Her time re-qualified her to run the Boston Marathon again next year. She was one of 10,260 women competing in Boston’s age-group categories. According to race organizers, the median time for female finishers at last year’s Boston Marathon was 4:10:25—underscoring the strength of her performance.

Training for Boston meant months of dedicated effort in Haida Gwaii’s rugged environment. Olsen logged countless kilometres through coastal weather, often running on uneven roads and trails around Daajing Giids. Friends and supporters across the islands followed her race online and tuned into the Boston Marathon’s finish-line livestream, where tens of thousands watched runners complete one of the most iconic routes in road racing.

Boston was a marked contrast to Skidegate’s oceanside Totem to Totem course, which is relatively flat and serene. But Olsen rose to the challenge, just as she had during the Skidegate event.

For Haida Gwaii, Olsen’s run is a community triumph—proof that world-class accomplishments can start on the island’s remote roads and trails. Her determination, resilience, and success have set a precedent for future local runners dreaming of Boston.