Advertise on podcast: Ultrarunning History

Listen to my interview on the very good Trail Runner Nation podcast. I recently went on it to talk to the guys about my new book, Classic Ultramarathon Beginnings. We discussed several of the very early ultras in our history.

The “around the world on foot” craze of the 1890s was first dominated by Americans, but eventually spread to Europeans. Some very interesting individuals, mostly from Germany and France, appeared in New York City claiming to be making a global journey on foot. Most were usually highly educated and impressive. Why would someone leave their well-respected careers and endure the hardship of being on the road for months and years? But the biggest question is why the public and news press could believe in such a hoax. Well, some figured it out. Here are three stories that were followed in newspapers across America. In a way, this was their way of following a continuing reality show that was often printed on the front pages of newspapers. These three stories are among more than 60 included in my new book, Around the World on Foot: The Early Globetrotters.

My new book, Around the World on Foot: The Early Globetrotters is available on Amazon. After an introduction to help you understand what in the world was going on, I will share a chapter about the strange tradition of starting in a paper suit.

Across the Years race, established in 1983, is being held this week in Arizona for the 37th time. It is one of the oldest fixed-time races in the world that is still held annually. The race is always held at the end of the year, crossing over to the new year with a grand celebration. Through the years, it has attracted many of the greatest fixed-time runners in the world and still today is the premier and largest fixed-time race in America. Over its impressive history, more than 2,300 runners have logged miles at Across the Years. It all started in 1983, the brainchild of Harold Sieglaff, of Phoenix, Arizona. This episode is a tribute to Sieglaff and the other pioneer ultrarunners who were the first to run this famed ultra.

Back in 1879, the featured Christmas Day sports event was ultrarunning/pedestrianism. That day, at least four ultramarathons were taking place. The largest six-day race in history, “The Rose Belt.” with 65 starters, held in Madison Square Garden in New York City, in front of thousands of spectators. In Chicago, at McCormick Hall, four pedestrians were competing in another six-day race, more crowded facilities. Probably the most unusual ultramarathon in history was also taking place in the Red Sea aboard the steamer “Duke of Devonshire.”

Gary Cantrell (a.k.a. Lazarus Lake), of Tennessee, was recently inducted into the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame. Most people recognize him for creating the legendary Barkley Marathons, arguably the toughest trail race in the world. But few understand that he once was a talented runner during the 1970s and early 1980s. His running exploits when he was in his 20s and 30s groomed his experience into the most famous extreme sports race director in the world, and into an encyclopedia of ultrarunning wisdom. To understand complexities of the man, Gary Cantrell before he became Lazarus Lake, one must learn about his background and experiences that led up to the birth of the Barkley.

Trail 100-milers started to be held in Great Britain in 1973, four years before the Western States 100 was established in America. They were organized by the Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA). This piece of ultrarunning history is largely unknown to Americans who have been told for decades that trail 100-milers began first in the U.S. In reality, trail 100s were also known to be held in Mexico among the Tarahumara as early as 1867. Thus, recognition is deserved among several cultures and countries to those who dared to head out into the rural wilderness to achieve the distance of 100 miles on foot.

The first certified 100 km race in America was held at Lake Waramaug, Connecticut, in 1974. Today it remains as the oldest 100 km race in the country and the second oldest American ultra still held. For many years in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, it was the unofficial national championship for the 100 km distance and the best ultrarunners in the U.S. made their pilgrimage to Lake Waramaug to test their abilities on the 7.59-mile paved road loop around the lake. Before 1974, the 50-mile or 100-mile distances had been the America's “standard” ultra distances. But most of the ultras held during the 1970s were of odd lengths. There were a few road 50 kms, such as those put on by the AAU in Sacramento. But in the New York City area, the hotspot for ultramarathons put on by Ted Corbitt (1919-2007), of the New York Road Runners, had a large variety of ultra distances during the 1960s and early 1970s. San Francisco had been the scene of multiple 32 milers. Racing around Lake Tahoe for 72 miles would become popular starting in 1975. No one had yet thought to put on a race that was exactly 100 km.

In 2011, Allyn Cureton‘s nearly 30-year FKT for a single crossing was finally broken by Jared Scott (1971-) of Colorado, with a time of 3:06:10, just 36 seconds faster. Cureton was at the top of the South Kaibab trail to congratulate him. In 2012, Rob Krar (1976-) of Flagstaff, was the first runner to break three hours, with a time of 2:51:30. As of 2022, the single-crossing FKT is held by Tim Freriks (1990-) of Flagstaff, with 2:39:28, set in 2017. Kimber Mattox (1988-) of Bend, Oregon, holds the women’s FKT with 3:11:57, set in 2022.

This part will cover additional stories from the 1970s and 1980 found through deeper research, adding to the history shared in found in the new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History.

Spartathlon, an ultra of 246 km (153 miles), takes place each September in Greece, running from Athens to Sparta and with its 36-hour cutoff. It is one of the toughest ultramarathons to finish. 1983 was the first year the race was held. In Part 1 of this series, episode 88, the story was told how Spartathlon was born in 1982, the brainchild of an officer in the Royal Air Force, John Foden. Three servicemen successfully covered a route that was believed to have been taken in 490 B.C., by the Greek messenger, Pheidippides. The 1982 trial run set the stage for the establishment of the Spartathlon race. The race's 1983 inaugural year is covered in this part won by Yiannis Kouros.

This part will cover additional stories found through deeper research, adding to the history shared in found in the new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History. On March 5, 1964, eighteen famous astronauts, who were part of the Gemini and Apollo programs, hiked down the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch, stayed overnight, and then came back up using the Bright Angel Trail. The trip was part of a geological training program. A NASA official said, “The trip will prepare the astronauts to be competent geologic observers, to know what they’re looking at and how to properly observe geologic features on the lunar surface they may encounter.”