How old were you when you ran your first marathon?
On Sunday, Linden Meza of Middle Sackville, N.S., made Blue Nose Marathon history, becoming the youngest ever to cross the finish line—just one day after his 10th birthday. Running alongside his dad, Carlos, Linden completed the 42.2-kilometre course in five hours and 57 minutes.
Linden’s motivation? A powerful one. He dedicated his marathon to his grandfather, who passed away from brain cancer in December 2023. Over the past year, he gradually built up his mileage from youth fun runs to 5K, 10K and eventually a half marathon.
At last year’s Blue Nose, Linden was offered a choice between the kids’ 2km or 4km. He insisted on the 5K instead. He and his dad finished in 31:16. That run ignited a big goal—running next year’s marathon.
With guidance from his father, a strength and conditioning coach, Linden followed a structured plan. He even completed a marathon-distance training run in preparation with his dad two weeks before race day.
“There are risks with kids doing endurance events, but research shows it can be safe if done right,” Carlos told CTV News. “No pain, no pushing through injuries, and the motivation has to come from them, not the parents. Linden wanted this. We just supported him.”
Still, most experts wave caution around children participating in long-distance races. Even at 10, their bones and growth plates are still developing. That’s why many marathons require participants to be 18 or older. The Blue Nose, however, has no official age minimum.
On Instagram, Carlos shared the milestone: “Linden is now the youngest person to ever complete the Blue Nose Marathon—just one day after his 10th birthday. Did you know only 0.01 per cent of the world population will ever run a marathon?”
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Linden added another layer of meaning to his run: raising funds for cancer research in honour of both his grandfathers—one who passed, and one still fighting. “My grandfather passed away from cancer a year ago, and my other grandfather has cancer,” Linden told CTV News. “So I decided to raise money for cancer.”
If you’d like to support Linden’s fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society, you can donate here.
