While the Marathon Shuffle is not a race, we do recognize the accomplishments of the top male and female finishers on the Tom Mills trophy. Our trophy has an interesting history…
The Current Trophy
The current version of the Tom Mills Trophy was first presented at the 2024 Marathon Shuffle awards party by Shuffle Manager Ean Jackson.
Some history: The COVID pandemic killed the Marathon Shuffle. Like all similar events, the Shuffle was canceled in 2020 due to public health concerns. It was canceled again in 2021. New to the qPAWS Board in 2022, Jackson was selected to bring the beloved community event back to life. The rebuilding process took 3 years. Part of the rebuilding was to figure out what happened to the trophy.
For 2 years, Jackson and his team tried to track the trophy down. Their investigation included personal interviews ranging from the mayor’s office to the management and staff of the Powell River Recreation Complex, current and former members of the qPAWS board and volunteers at the Shuffle. There was an outreach program on social media. There was an analysis of old photos. In 2023, it was concluded that the trophy was gone. It was time to make a new one.
To find a burl Jackson got the help of Eagle Walz, one of the founders of Sunshine Coast Trail. Walz and Jackson foraged two lovely slices of red cedar from the forest: one for the trophy and one for a backup. These templates were lovingly restored by Wayne Gooch and stored in Jackson’s garage until an engraver could be found. When they dried out, both pieces split so badly they couldn’t be used. In response to an urgent plea on social media, Nora LeClair and Brian Lee donated burls. Clay Bradner then finished and engraved the actual trophy.
Next, we need to find someone to do the brass engravings with the names of the top finishers. We tracked down John Passek, who engraved the original plaques. The challenge was, the original trophy was introduced in 2004 and only recognized finishers from that year on. What about the first 10 years?
Finding the names of top finishers from the first Marathon Shuffle in 1994 through 2003 took the better part of 2 years. It involved searching in dusty filing cabinets, the internet, newspaper archives, and innumerable conversations with those known to have participated in early events. You can find our best efforts documented in the results section of the event. If you have any insights into who participated in the early years of the Shuffle, we’d love to hear from you! Please contact us.
But that’s not the end of the story! Each year, we add new names. Will you be one of them?
The Original Trophy
The original version of the Tom Mills Trophy was first presented at the 2004 Marathon Shuffle awards party by Shuffle Manager Eagle Walz.
Some history: Tom Mills was a long-time volunteer who helped build and maintail the Sunshine Coast Trail. Tom also helped with the Shuffle. As the event grew and started to attract runners, Tom noticed that there was no trophy to recognize athletic excellence, so he commissioned one. From 2004 through 2014, top male and female finishers were presented the trophy at the finisher party. The trophy would then go on display behind glass at the Powell River Recreation Complex. It was also displayed occasionally at community events. It was last seen at the Recreation Complex in the fall of 2014. It then vanished!