Three-time Olympian Eric Gillis had the race of his life at the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympic Games Marathon as he finished first Canadian and 10th overall. His result was Canada’s best since national record-holder Jerome Drayton was sixth at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games Marathon. Drayton was also the last (and fastest) Canadian to win the Boston Marathon in 1977 (2:14:46). At the 2012 Olympic Games Marathon, Gillis finished 22nd and in 2008 he made the Olympic team in the 10,000m and finished 33rd. He is a three-time national champion in the 10,000m and a national champion in the half marathon. “I train to set myself up for tomorrow’s training,” says Gillis. “The ‘setup’ is as important as the act and that’s my motto, both in running and life.”

Gillis lives in Guelph, Ontario, and trains with coach Dave Scott-Thomas and Olympian Reid Coolsaet and the Speed River Track & Field Club. Gillis is married to wife Emily, and the couple has two children, Luke and Heidi. Gillis attended St Francis Xavier University in his hometown of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He holds a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Human Kinetics. “I chose to the run the Boston Marathon, in part, because of its history,” says Gillis. “Growing up, it was the first marathon I ever watched and now 2017 is my year.”

“I imagine a wide, diverse group of people merging in Boston on April 17th to #BeBoston for a day.”