14: 100 x 100-milers

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By Davy Crockett 

Both a podcast episode and a full article
(Listen to the podcast episode too with audio clips from some of the runners.)

The sport of running 100 miles competitively has existed for multiple centuries. In the 1800s, the most prolific 100-mile runner was Frank Hart (1856-1908), a black runner from Boston, Massachusetts. He reached 100 miles in at least 85 of his races across his 25-year running career. Most of those races were six-day races where he usually ran far more than 300 miles.

In the modern era, by the mid-1970s, running 100 miles in competition started to become more available to anyone. Before 1980, no one ran dozens of 100-milers during their running career, only a handful of 100s. Ultrarunning legend Ted Corbitt (1919-2007) ran fewer than ten 100-milers.

By the end of 1999, a few prolific ultrarunners had piled up 100-mile race finishes. Richard and Sandra Brown of England were way out in front with 87 and 82, reaching 100 miles in both running and walking events. Ray Krolewicz of South Carolina was next with about 60 100-mile finishes to his name. Don Choi, the prolific multi-day runner from San Francisco, had more than 40 100-mile finishes but had retired from 100-mile running in 1997 at the age of 48. The world’s greatest, Yiannis Kouros had an estimated 40 100-milers, most of them wins. As the decades passed, in 2024, there were 30 talented ultrarunners who had achieved 100 100 milers.  Who are they?

Recent News:

Kim Sergeant

Kim Sergeant, age 65, of Galveston, Texas, finished her 100^th race of at least 100 miles on May 19, 2024 at 3 Days at the Fair in Augusta, New Jersey, making her the 30^th person in the world to reach that milestone. She started running trails in the 1990s and soon finished her first 100-miler at the 1995 Arkansas Traveller 100. After finishing 3rd at the 1996 Rocky Raccoon, she became hooked on running 100-milers. She finished Rocky 13 times.

Kim ran track in high school, was her team’s captain, but did not run long distance seriously until much later. She became a pharmacist, moved to Galveston, Texas, in 1988, and like many others, ran the seawall and soon ran the Houston marathon. She was encouraged by others to try trails and her ultrarunning career began. She became a determined, tough-minded 100-mile runner, who has experienced only 11 100-miler DNFs. She has run mostly flat or rolling 100-milers such as Umstead (10 finishes), Arkansas Traveller (8 finishes), and Vermont 100 (6 finishes). In 2008, she started running many fixed time races too and achieved some wins at 48 hours. Her 100-mile PR was 25:44:52 at 2001 Rocky Raccoon.

Kim’s mom, Nancy Sergeant Kyper, was at first very concerned about Kim’s ultrarunning obsession but became her greatest cheerleader and was with her from 64 of her 100-mile finishes, and ran with her in two ultras at the age of 81 before passing away at age 89 in 2021. She supported Kim in her pursuit to achieve 100×100 and would have been very proud of this achievement. Kim pushed hard to reach this goal and finished fifteen 100-milers in 2023.

The 100×100 Club

Determining how many 100-mile+ race finishes a person has is a hard task because there is no official list and no single database has a complete list of results. The criteria I and others in this “club” have used to count 100-mile races includes:

• An official race, overseen by a race director, where 100 miles (161 kms) or more is achieved within a 48-hour period. Results are found on ultrasignup.com, DUV database, or verified with a race director. 100 miles must be reached within the established cut-off time for the race.
• A race of more than 100 miles is counted as only one, even if hundreds of miles were reached in the race. If the race (example, a 200-miler), is DNFed, it does not count even if 100 miles was covered.
• Solo 100-mile runs, outside of an official race are not counted in this list even if verified. Most of those in this club additionally have accomplished several solo 100s in addition to their formal races.
• For 2020-only, virtual races are counted.

Note: I’ve been asked, why not count 100-mile training/adventure runs?  Consistency.  When I researched this, those at the top of the list (Sandra, Jester, Mike, etc.) all were consistent and only counted races, not their 100-miler adventure runs. The 100-miler longevity list maintained, also only counts races. I believe Rob Apple has finished the most ultras in the world (800+). He doesn’t count his additional hundreds of ultra-distance training runs.  A serious trans-continental, or AT runner runs a 100-mile run almost every other day. It doesn’t make sense to count those for this list.  I hope that helps with the rationale.

I will attempt to share those who have reached 100-miles 100 times during a race. It is possible that I have missed someone. Please let me know so I can update the list.

These runners have many things in common. All are very mentally tough, stubborn about not quitting, fairly obsessive, train year-round, and never envisioned reaching this milestone. Most of them have ventured into multi-day events later in their career and can go well over 100 miles in a single event. All developed the ability to run at least one 100-miler each month and learned how to avoid significant injury. Here are the athletes in order of reaching the 100×100 milestone:

• Sandra Brown of England with at least 216, most were achieved in walking competitions
• Richard Brown of England at least 146, most were achieved in walking competitions
• Martina Hausmann of Germany with at least 143 including nearly 50 200+ milers
• Hans-Dieter Weisshaar of Germany with 140
• Monica Scholz of Canada with at least 125. She finished 25 in one year
• Dan Brenden of Arizona with at least 132
• Ray Krolewicz of South Carolina with at least 116. Started running 100s before anyone else in the group.
• John Geesler of New York with at least 135
• Ed Ettinghausen of California with at least 250, the world’s best. He finished 41 in one year
• Mike Smith of New Mexico with at least 219 and still piling them up.
• Catra Corbett of California with at least 140
• Susan Donnelly of Tennessee with at least 146
• John W Taylor of Minnesota with at least 112
• Liz Bauer of Georgia with at least 120. She finished 36 in one year
• Davy Crockett of Utah with at least 108
• Heike Pawzik of Germany, with at least 103
• Louise Mason of Illinois with at least 115
• Frederick F Davis III of Ohio with at least 110
• Pam Reed of Wyoming with at least 115
• Keith Straw of Pennsylvania with at least 107
• Tobie Reyneke of South Africa, with at least 104
• Yen Nguyen of Texas, with at least 115
• Ray Sanchez of California, with at least 110
• Greg Trapp of Ohio, with at least 108
• Gilles Pallaruelo of France, with at least 104
• Van Phan of Washington with at least 103
• Ken Fancett of England with at least 100
• Will Sprouse of Kansas with at least 115
• Bobby Keogh of New Mexico with at least 100
• Kim Sergeant of Texas with at least 100

In 2019, Matt Watts, of Colorado finished his 95th 100-miler, determined to reach his 100th in a few months and join the club. Sadly, he suddenly passed away before he could reach his goal.

 

Davy Crockett recently published three books on the history of 100-milers. Get them on Amazon. Running 100 Miles Part One: A History (1729-1960), Running 100 Miles Part Two: A History (1961-1976), and Running 100 Miles Part Three: A History (1977-1979)

Sandra Brown

Sandra Brown (216+ finishes), age 75 in 2024, of England, is the world’s greatest woman ultra-distance walker ever, but she was also a world-class ultrarunner and still is for her age-group. In 2018 she was 68-69 years old and completed eleven 100-milers that year, including some sub-24-hour 100-milers. Her 200+ 100-milers came in several different types of walking and running events on tracks, roads, and trails. It wasn’t until this article was published that ultrarunners in America became aware that she actually had achieved more 100-milers than anyone in the world. Among her 200 100s, Sandra has completed about 130 100-milers in events that were judged by racewalking rules. But she also completed 100 miles in more than 30 ultrarunning events. Others were walking events where you could walk any way you wished to reach 100 miles.

Piling up 100-milers while living in England is very impressive because there are far fewer events compared to the US. Sandra wrote, “I’ve always envied athletes in the USA where there are so many ultra-distance and 100 miles events! In the UK there are now several, mainly off-road, 100s, and a couple of 24h events. In 1982, Sandra and her husband started to compete in 100-mile events and quickly excelled. In 1984, at the age of 35, Sandra finished six 100-milers. At Leicester, England, she finished her lifetime racewalk 100-mile best time of 18:36:24, which also was a women’s best for Great Britain. She had established herself as a world elite ultra walker.

But Sandra ran too. Just a month later in 1984, Sandra ran in her first 24-hour event at Chorley, England, and reached a staggering 131.1 miles, setting a new world record. Across the Atlantic in America, women greats had been increasing the world 24-hour record a few years before, but in 1984 Sandra claimed the record for her own. She also went very far, reaching 426 miles in 1994 at Sacramento, California, reaching 1,000 miles in 1996 in Austria, in less than 15 days, and walking Great Britain end-to-end 840 miles in 1995, in 13 days, 10 hours.

Sandra achieved her 100th 100-miler in 2001, her 150th in 2012, and early in 2019 she was the first to reach 200×100. She still holds world racewalking records on track for 100k, 100 miles, 12 hours, and 24 hours. In 2018 at the age of 69 she achieved two sub-24-hour 100s at two running events along with her other nine 100s that year.  Among her total 100+ events have been an impressive world best of 54 judged “Centurion” racewalks (100 miles in less than 24-hours).

Richard Brown

Richard Brown (146+ finishes), age 77 in 2024, of England, is Sandra’s husband. They both started walking and running 100 miles in 1982. The year 1988, at the age of 45 was a huge year for Richard. He logged a total of 5,936 miles. He first broke the world record walking Ireland end-to-end, 375 miles in 4 days, 12 hours. He then ran in the Sri Chinmoy 1,000 mile race held in New York, reaching 518 miles in six days, setting a British record. He then ran 144 miles in 24 hours at Preston, England. He then set a world record walking the Great Britain end-to-end, 826 miles in 10 days, 18 hours.

Richard’s best time racewalking 100 miles was 16:50:28 in 1993, that in 2018 was still the second-best British time ever. In 1991 he became only the sixth person in history to go over 400K at a 48-hour race. Richard reached 100×100 milers in 2004, second only to Sandra. As he reached 60 and beyond he set world age group records for six days. Richard generously gave back to the sport as a coach. For about ten years, Richard served as the team manager of the British Ultramarathon team. The men’s team became World Champions in 2015 at Turin, Italy. By the end of 2018, he had achieved more than 132 100-milers and was still being signed up by Sandra for more.

Martina Hausmann

Martina Hausmann (140+ finishes) age 63 in 2023 is from Germany. She started running ultras around 1988. She is likely the most prolific multi-day runner in the world, participating in more than 80 events. She runs and walks and is known to be relentless. She also is likely the world leader in 200+ milers with about 50, and is a four-time finisher of Spartathon, finishing in 4th three times. She has about 40 women’s 100-mile+ wins, and a regular winner at Across the Years.

Martina has excelled at 1000+ mile races with an amazing eight finishes, always on the podium. Her best 6-day was 470 miles. She has set world age group records for 48 hours and ran in the 2009 Trans-Europe race, 2,787 miles. Since 2019, she has not finished any 100 milers.

Hans-Dieter Weisshaar

Hans-Deiter Weisshaar (140 finishes), age 82 in 2023, is from Germany. Hans started running at age 46 because he was overweight. Before then, he said he was a typical “couch potato” and back in school didn’t participate in sports. He was laughed at by his classmates when he tried participating in sports. He started running ultras in 1987 at the Swiss Alpine Marathon (67K) and started running 100s at the age of 58 when most 100-mile runners have already retired from the sport. After running Kettle Moraine 100 in 1999, he became addicted to running 100 miles. His fastest 100-miler was the 2000 Rocky Raccoon 100, which he finished in 20:39 at the age of 59. Hans was a medical doctor and retired in 2002 at the age of 62, giving him more free time to travel and run.

One year, Hans finished an astonishing twenty 100-milers in one year. What was totally impressive is that his finishes each year always included some of the toughest 100s in the world, including Hardrock 100. He coined a “Super Slam”, to finish four tough mountain races in a single year that didn’t need to include the easier and hard-to-get-into, Western States 100. In 2007, he finished his 100th 100-miler at Hardrock 100. There were rumors that he was going to retire from running 100s, but he didn’t. Hans had many 100-mile DNFs along the way.

100 100 milers! Hans was the king of 100s in America. Han’s last 100-mile finish was at The Bear 100. In 2014 where he finished with a little more than an hour to spare. After some DNFs, he retired from attempting to run 100-milers. In 2021, he was 81 years old, dealing with health issues not related to running, and we all wish him well.

Hans once said, “To survive and finish any 100-miler you must be mentally strong. You have to be convinced that you will finish and keep moving and moving. Each race is different. You have moments when you think you are an idiot, what are you doing out here instead of sitting in front of the TV and eating chips having fun with music. But then you finish 100 miles. You are the big guy for yourself. Your life is totally different.” One of his favorite sayings was, “A 100-mile race is 90 percent mental, and the physical is the other 90 percent.”

Others have reached the 100 100-miler milestone, but I consider Hans the “Babe Ruth” of 100s in America, the person who showed us all what was possible. During his full career, he has amassed 140 100-mile finishes.

Monica Scholz

Monica Scholz (about 125+ finishes), age 56 in 2023, is an attorney from Canada. She has a long list of accomplishments. She began her 100-mile running career in 1999, at the age of 31. She was fast with a 2001 18:48 overall win in Ohio. She also won the 2004 Trail Runner Series, female ultra division. In 2010, she set the best for most 100-mile finishes in a year at 25 (Later broken by Liz Bauer and then by Ed Ettinghausen). She has finished the very tough H.U.R.T 100 eleven times and Badwater seven times.

Monica once said, “Tuning out during a 100 is a nice break for me and allows me some fresh perspective when I get back to work. Also most of my 100s were on trails, which is another reason why I loved them so much. 100-mile races are peculiar events, and I think for the most part they tend to be along the prettiest trails in any given province or state.” On how to finish, she said, “You have to be very determined and stubborn. The mental determination allows you to get through. Make sure you have your head together, keep your focus, don’t waver.” Monica’s last 100-mile finish was in 2013.

Dan Brenden

Dan Brenden (132 finishes), age 72 in 2023, from Phoenix, Arizona is a humble, friendly runner, and good friend of mine. He started his 100-mile career about 2002 at the age of 51. He has completed the grand slam of ultrarunning eight times, more than anyone in history. I’ve shared many miles with Dan. You will always see him smiling and running in his short shorts. DNFs are becoming more frequent for him, but he is tough as nails and continues to do what he enjoys. He is very humble about his amazing accomplishments. His last 100-miler was in 2018.

In 2016, after we ran at the same race near Las Vegas, Dan sent me a note that contained: “I was impressed how hard you were pushing it even so early in the run—any way you were impressive and motivating that I really need to follow your example more and push harder—I did sprints this morning—not fun but did it—OH well it was a start in your direction. Very Nice Davy thanks for getting me going in the right direction.” Amazing! I totally look up to him, but he is always looking to others to improve.

Get Davy Crockett’s best-selling book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History. Learn all about the history of hiking and running across the Canyon for your next rim to rim run.

Ray Krolewicz

Ray Krolewicz (116+finishes) age 67 in 2023, is a pioneer legend of modern-day ultrarunning. Of the entire group, he was the fastest 100-miler in his early days with a 13:58 in 1988 at Flushing Meadows in New York City. It is believed that he has finished more than 500 ultras and has more than 80 ultra wins. But even more important than these accomplishments, Ray is the champion for the common ultrarunner. He has taken on the role of mentor to the younger generation of ultrarunners, preaching that “there are no such thing as junk miles.” At the races, you will see him giving advice to young runners, helping them reach their potential, and cheering them on. It has been said, “If Ray K ever gives you advice on ultras, take it to the bank – it is good as gold.”

Along his way to more than 100 100-milers, Ray set records and excelled, especially running 48 hours. He kept raising his American record and at one time held the four best 48-hour American performances in history. His best was 224 miles in 1984, set in France. In 1984 he was the first American to finish Spartathlon in Greece. Of Ray, Gary Cantrell (Laz) wrote in 1989, “Unarguably, he remains a fierce competitor and given the opportunity will crack the unwary opponent like an egg shell.” Ray doesn’t talk a lot about his amazing accomplishments and would rather encourage and help others. He still is running, finishing his most recent 100-miler in 2021.

John Geesler

John Geesler (130+ finishes), age 64 in 2023, is from New York. John was a world-class 24-hour and multi-day runner. He has run marathons for many years and as of 2018 has a streak of 31 straight Boston Marathon finishes. In 1991 he started running 100-milers, his first at Vermont 100. “I ran a lot marathons and heard about ultras. I thought 100 miles sounded a little crazy, so I tried a 50-miler. That went so well I figured I’d try a hundred. At the time, there were only seven hundreds in the country. Being from New York state, Vermont was the easiest to drive to, so I signed up.” By 2018 he had finished an astonishing 26 Vermont 100s. He said, “The scenery and atmosphere are intoxicating. It’s a very laid back state. I love the horses and the whole package.”

John ran trail 100s for many years but in 1996 started to run 24-hour races at Olander Park in Ohio and he quickly developed into a world-class 24-hour runner on the flat surfaces. In 2000, he ran an amazing 157 miles at Olander and in 2004 set an American road 48-hour record of 400k (248 miles) at Across the Years, a record that stood until 2011. John could run 100 miles faster that 15 hours, including a 14:44:44 split at 2004 Olander. He is a humble, quiet, steady runner who has the ability to fight off sleep and stay on the track better than anyone else. As six-day races returned, in his late 50s he became one of the best. In 2015, he reached his best of 437 miles. He has the most career miles at Across the Years, with 4,541 miles in his 15 years there. He is a 3-time USA 24-Hour Run National Champion and 5-time national team member. I’m proud to call him my friend. John said, “I don’t train, so much as I just go run. Don’t have a log, or keep track of miles or time. I just want to enjoy the run.”

Ed Ettinghausen

Ed “Jester” Ettinghausen (250+ finishes), age 60 in 2023, is from California. He passed Sandra Brown in August 2021 for the most career 100+ mile race finishes. I met Ed for the first time in 2010, when he came to run my Pony Express Trail 100. He was very early into his ultrarunning career with only four 100-mile finishes. When he ran Pony Express, he was still experimenting with hats and wore a coonskin hat in my honor. Shortly after that, he settled on his famed jester attire.

Ed, the Jester, now wears a full Jester costume when he runs. I ran with him at races several times each year. He has gone on to run 135 marathon distance runs in a year, and in 2014 finished 41 100-mile+ races in a calendar year, a world best. He embraces the Jester theme well and has his own “Jester Nation.” Ed is kind to all and very encouraging, usually with a group of runners following after him. He broke several age group American records for long distances. In April, 2016, he ran 717 miles in ten days at Sri Chinmoy.

At all the fixed-time races with Ed, when the direction of running changes, you will see the Jester coming toward you ringing a cowbell, blowing a train whistle and giving high fives. Ed said, “If I can bring some fun to the race, that’s my goal. I don’t take myself too seriously during a race, I want to have fun, have adventures, and make memories. I love nature, the trails, and the courses but it’s the people. I love all the people. I love big-scene marathons–the energy, the interactions. This is what really keeps me going.” Ed achieved 200 100+-milers in 2021.

Mike Smith

Mike Smith (219+ finishes) age 66 in 2023, is from Indiana, and now living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He started running in 1995 with a goal to finish a marathon. That evolved into finishing his first 100-miler at Umstead 100 in 1999. Mike has taken his running talents all over the world including Antarctica. He finished the Grand Slam of ultrarunning in 2014 and in 2016, he achieved his 100^th 100-mile finish. He hopes to finish a 100-miler on every continent.

Like all the others in this group, he has emphasized the grueling mental strength needed to accomplish this milestone. “Some people who are more qualified will give up mentally. You can’t undo what happens. You have to overcome.” Mike said to distract himself from the pain. He enjoys the scenery. In order to race so many 100s, he explained that there is no off season. He said, “I’m never really competitive. I’m not the fastest, but I finish.” For Mike it isn’t about collecting the buckles, “it’s the people, I keep collecting friends, because it’s such a neat community.” Into his 60s his is still one of the most prolific 100-mile runners with at least 20 finishes in 2021. He achieved his 200th 100-miler on April 2, 2023, at Umstead 100, the site of his first 100-mile finish.

Catra Corbett

Catra Corbett aka “Dirt Diva” (140+ finishes) age 58 in 2023, from California can’t be missed on the trail with her colorful dress, more than 50 tattoos and many piercings. She took up running in 1996 after finding herself in jail in 1994, a meth addict. She had abused drugs and alcohol for 20 years. She cleaned up her life, overcame her addiction, and instead became addicted to running 100 miles. She started running 100s in 1999 at the age of 34. In 2004 she did the 424 mile round-trip of the John Muir Trail over many 12,000 and 13,000 peaks in just over 12 days, a feat which no one has attempted to break yet.

Her advice for life: “Always think positive. You know, things will always be better, even if you hit a rough patch in life, just use what you learned from your running: go through it, keep going, always remains positive. Sunshine behind the dark clouds!” If you count Catra’s additional solo-100+ milers, she had completed more than 140 100+ milers. She has moved up to be a regular at 200-mile events. She is the author of the 2018 book, Reborn on the Run: My Journey from Addiction to Ultramarathons.

Susan Donnelly

Susan Donnelly (146+ finishes), age 60 in 2023, is from Tennessee. She ran track in high school and quickly discovered that she performed well in the long distances, but in the 1980s there wasn’t much support for girls who wanted to run long. She took part in 5 and 10ks and eventually ran a marathon. When she read about Ann Trason running Western States 100 in a magazine, she wanted to run 100 miles. But after a burst appendix and almost 10 years of diversions, she finally started running ultras in 1996 and she eventually ran her first 100 at Superior in 1999 in Minnesota. Her 100^th also came at Superior in 2017.

Susan wrote about her 100×100 accomplishment. “I never set a goal to run 100 100-mile races. I mean, not at the start. Not until late last year when I noticed I was getting close. And of course, that would be cool. When I started running 100s, I set out to do one. One. Uno. That’s all I saw. I had such a hard time even wrapping my mind around the distance, it was all I could do to focus on it enough to run it. I didn’t imagine running 100 of them, much less aim for it.”  In 2018, Susan continues to run 100s, with eight finishes included a 240+-miler. She is now a life coach.

John W Taylor

John W Taylor (110+ finishes), age 62 in 2023, is from in Minnesota. He started running ultras in 2001 and ran his first 100-miler in 2005 at San Diego 100. He completed his 100^th 100-miler together with Susan Donnelly at 2017 Superior 100. Earlier that year, John had encouraged me to join both of them for my 100th, but I was too far behind to catch them.

John has shared many tales of his 100-milers, including an experience while running 2015 Grand Mesa 100 at nearly 10,000 feet. “At about mile 88, I was running at a pretty good pace downhill on a smooth gravel road and a pickup truck pulled up alongside me. As he’s driving alongside me, he was telling me that I was quite the athlete to be out there running at that altitude. It was so odd to be out there alone for so long and to have some random guy out there driving by me trying to engage me in a conversation as I am running down a road. He also had no idea that I was in a race and that I had been out there for the last 28 hours.” I’ve run many races with John, who is always so friendly. Living in Minnesota, John doesn’t shy away from the difficult cold-weather races. He has finished Arrowhead 135 five times and to cap off 2018 finished Tuscobia 160-miler in 64:18.

Liz Bauer

Liz Bauer (115+ finishes), age 64 in 2023 is from Georgia. She ran her first ultra in 2001 after overhearing some people talk about them on a bus ride. The next year she finished her first 100-miler. In 2012 she accomplished the world’s best, with 36 100-mile finishes in a calendar year (breaking Monica Scholz’ best later increased to 41 by Ed Ettinghausen). She was accompanied by Scott Brockmeier, who ran 27 of them with her. Liz said, “You can’t imagine the logistics.” The cost of accomplishing something like that was astonishing, about $25,000.

After it was all over, Liz said, “We’re so tired. We’re a little broken too. It’s going to take a while to put ourselves back together. But mostly we’re just tired.” Scott said, “I’m not surprised that Liz pulled off our goal and more. DNFing is not in her vocabulary.” She said, “Quitting was never an option. I ran through some pain, but never enough to stop me.” Asked about running so many back-to-back 100s, Liz explained, “I have learned that we can do so much more than we think. It is the hardest times in life we remember. A painful struggle can turn into a glorious victory if you are patient and believe in yourself.” She continued to run 100s through 2020.

Davy Crockett

Davy Crockett (108 finishes), age 65 in 2023 (that is me.) I never had visions of finishing many 100-milers. I was an average athlete. When I finished my first at 2005 Rocky Raccoon 100, I was thrilled but managed to only finish one more 100 that first year. For years, I never had any hopes or goals on how many 100-milers I might one day finish, but with each year, my finishes started to pile up. In 2011, I did set a goal to finish ten 100s that year and reached it, finishing my 47th 100. I noticed that on one list, it looked like I was among the top-20 for career 100-mile finishes. When I experienced a severe tibia stress fracture in 2012, I wondered if my 100-mile days were over and if I would ever reach 50 100-mile finishes. I eventually recovered and finished my 50th that year at The Bear 100.

In 2013, I discovered that by running at least a 50K run every Saturday, my strength to run 100-milers often increased and that I could recover very fast. That became my quest. I only averaged running 2.5 days per week to spend time with my family, but I still averaged running 62 miles per week by using the long run. My best year for long runs came in 2015 when I ran 40 weeks with at least a 50K run. For 2015, I finished eleven 100-milers, in 2016, a personal best of twelve, and in 2017 eleven. I reached 75 finishes in early 2016 and I finally considered the possibility of one day reaching 100 finishes. So, I set my sights on the 100×100 goal.

By the end of 2017, I had finished 97 100s and the 100 finishes mark seemed within reach very soon until I became injured at Rocky Raccoon on its hurricane-ravaged course early in 2018. Surgery followed. Healing didn’t happen as I hoped, and I started to refer to myself as a “former ultrarunner.” Healing came, and I did careful low-mileage training and managed to finish two more 100s in October and November. I then decided to make “Across the Years” my 100^th 100. It seemed fitting because I had a long history running there and accomplished my only sub-20-hour 100-milers there and PRs at all ultra distances. It all worked out to close out 2018. I had a wonderful time finishing my 100^th 100 and sharing the track with so many friends.

Louise Mason

Louise Mason (115+ finishes), age 70 in 2023, is from Chicago, Illinois. She is a bit of an outlier from this rest of the bunch. She demonstrated that you don’t need to be fast to finish 100+ 100-miles, you just need to be very determined and consistent. Louise finished her first 100-miler at Vermont in 1993, at the age of 40. She broke her shoulder in her second 100 at Arkansas Traveler, but still finished.

Most of Louise’s 100s were run in the Midwest and Eastern United States. Her fastest 100-miler was accomplished in just under 24 hours. She has generally been a back-of-the packer staying carefully ahead of cutoffs. She is a twenty-time finisher of Umstead 100, and eleven-time finisher of Heartland 100. Louise reached her 100th 100-mile finish in November, 2019 at Boundiful in Chicago. In 2020, she was still continuing to compete in 100-milers.

Frederick F Davis III

Frederick F Davis III (104+ finishes), age 75 in 2023, is from Bedford, Ohio. Fred finished his 100th 100-miler on December 13, 2019, at the 20-day running festival at Johannesburg, South Africa, where he placed 3^rd out of 15 runners and reached an incredible 809 miles (1302 km) in the longest footrace held in the southern hemisphere. He started running in 1982 when he was 34 years old and ran his first ultra in 1986. He has always been mostly a long-distance road specialist, but has accomplished some difficult mountain 100-milers, including HURT 100 in Hawaii and Cascade Crest 100 in Washington. He has also finished Mohican Trail 100 eleven times. Fred’s first 100-miler was accomplished in 1991 at Mohican Trail 100 in Loudonville, Ohio, with a time of 28:51. His most 100-mile finishes came in 2008, when he finished eleven.

Fred, always smiling as he runs, is a very accomplished multi-day runner who has finished Vol-State 500 km four times. He has also competed in an amazing 12 Sri Chinmoy 10-day races in New York City. His best finish came in 2010 with 504 miles. Fred’s best 24-hour run came at 1998 at Sri Chinmoy 24 hour race in Ottawa, Canada, where he placed 3^rd and reached 113 miles. His fastest known 100 miler was accomplished at 2004 Olander Park 24 Hour Run in Sylvania, Ohio with a time of 21:02:45. He has finished marathons in all 50 states. In 2013, he was inducted into the Black Distance Runners Hall of Fame as one of its inaugural members. He continues to run and has finished more than 300 ultras and more than 500 ultras and marathons.

Pam Reed

Pam Reed (115+ finishes), age 62 in 2023, is from Jackson, Wyoming. She grew up in Michigan, was always active and athletic, and after college, moved to Tucson, Arizona. She began serious long-distance running in 1989 when training for Ironman competitions and finished her first 100-miler in 1992, the Wasatch Front 100. That began her love for running that distance and since then, she has finished at least one 100-miler every year.

Pam quickly excelled in ultras and wins came. She won her first 100-miler in Tucson in 21:30:00 and broke 20 hours with a win at 1998 Old Dominion, completing the Grand Slam that year. Living in Arizona, she was used to running in temperatures over 100 degrees and in 2002 wished to give the famous Badwater Ultramarathon (135 miles) a try in Death Valley. With already twenty 100-mile finishes, she was not the typical Badwater rookie and gained serious fame when she became the overall winner in 27:56:47. That began her long association with Badwater, where she finished 11 times, all podium finishes with three wins. After her second Badwater win, she made a classic appearance on the David Letterman Show.

In 2003, she started to compete internationally on the U.S. 24-hour team and finished 6^th at the World Championship at The Netherlands with 134 miles. A month later, she broke the American Women’s 24-hour record with 138.96 miles at San Diego, California, a record she held for 25 years. For her accomplishments that year, she was named the USATF Women’s Masters Ultrarunner of the Year and the #3 top sports figure in Arizona for 2003.

In 2005, Pam received national public fame when she ran 301 miles in 79 hours without any sleep on a flat frontage road next to Interstate 10, north of Tucson, beating an unofficial record for sustained running that Dean Karnazes had recently set at 262 miles. In 2009, she took her sleep-deprivation talents to New York City and broke the women’s American six-day record with 490 miles.

Pam not only ran, but she has given back to the sport and organized many races. In 1995, as a marathon in Tucson was dwindling, she founded and directed the current version of the Tucson Marathon which she now also owns. She has run more than 100 marathons, with 2:59 as her personal best, and has finished more than 170 ultras, with at least 25 wins.

In 2019, she became aware that she had 85 100-mile race finishes and set an ambitious goal to soon reach 100 finishes. Her 100^th finish came on February 3, 2021 at Grandmaster Ultras in Arizona, just three weeks before her 60^th birthday. Half of her 100 finishes included difficult mountain trail 100s, including 14 Wasatch Front 100 finishes. She is the author of the book, The Extra Mile: One Woman’s Personal Journey to Ultra-Running Greatness

Keith Straw

Keith Straw “tutu man” (107+ finishes), age 67 in 2023, was originally from Great Britain and Holland, moved to the United States in 1998 and now is lives in Pennsylvania. He never planned to be a runner and believes that he has experienced a lot of luck along the way to reach 100 finishes. He is an amazing outlier compared to all the others in the 100×100 club because he started long-distance running in his 50s. He ran his first marathon in 2004 and started to run a marathon a month. He then ran his first ultra in 2005 at the age of 50. On whim, he ran the 2005 Around the Lake 24 Hour in Wakefield, Massachusetts, where he placed a surprising 3rd with 110 miles. He became hooked on running 100-miles, especially the 24-hour event where his personal best was 136 miles at North Coast.

Keith, usually seen running in a race wearing a pink tutu and holding a magic wand, has run a marathon in all 50 states and has finished 470+ marathons/ultras in his relatively short running career. For his 100-milers, he likes to be fairly self-supportive and does not use a crew or pacers unless they are required. He has accomplished the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning five times. Additionally, he has finished Badwater 135 seven times, including finishing it the same years as the Grand Slams for his version of a “Super Slam.” Along the way he has won at least six 100+ milers and his 100-mile PR (in a 100-mile race) was 18:41:52 at 2011 Lean Horse at the age of 56.

 Tobie Reyneke

Tobie Reyneke (104+ finishes), age 50 in 2023, is from South Africa. His 100^th 100-miler came at Wychwood Run Festival 36-hours held on Feb 5-6, 2022. He started running ultras in 2009 and his first 100-mile finish came at the famed Washie 100 that year, a South African road race first held in 1974. With only a handful of 100-mile races held in South Africa, he had to race them all and find creative ways to finish others, including a large number of virtual 100s held around the world as the pandemic locked down South Africa.

Most of his 100-mile finishes have come on road courses but he has also run some difficult trail 100s such as the Cederberg Traverse 100. He has finished 11 Comrades marathons (54 miles), including a double. He has also run a double Washie. His 100-miler PR is 18:32:23 at Hewat Camp Town 100 in 2011.

Tobie has succeeded in ultrarunning, despite a severe eyesight disability. This has caused him to run slower than he wished, and he has had difficulty on technical trails because he cannot adapt fast enough. He’s had a number of eye operations that have let him avoid blindness, but still not clear enough to avoid the inevitable stumbles and falls. He has said, “Life keeps throwing curveballs and forces us to learn the most important lessons of life, namely the ability to adapt to change and always focusing on the positive with hope, despite everything pointing the opposite way.”

Yen Nguyen

Ken Fancett (100 finishes) age 74 in 2023, a trail runner from South Croydon, England, finished his 100^th race of at least 100 miles on October 14-15, 2023, at Centurion Running Autumn 100, held at Goring, England, in 25:01:10, making him the 27^th person to reach that milestone. For his age, he is a world-class ultrarunner. Ken started his athletic pursuit on foot clear back in the 1960s when he took part in some long-distance walking events. About 20 years later, he began participating in Long Distance Walker Association (LDWA) events and other 100 km walking events and set soon his sights on becoming an ultrarunner. His first 100-miler was an LDWA event in 1992, the Invicta 100, which he finished in 29:30. His first running ultra was the Camulodunum 40, in 1995. Seeking to go further, he took part in 24-hour track events. After he won one with 133 miles / 214 km, he was hooked on reaching 100 miles, and wanted to run in more events. His personal best 24-hour run came in 2006 with 143 miles / 231.2 km.

Ken preferred trails to roads and tracks. Among British ultrarunners still living in Great Britain, he has finished the most 100-milers in America, in 22 different 100s, starting with Western States 100 in 2005, which he finished in 23:54:43 at the age of 55. He sought out U.S. races because of the relatively few 100-milers in Great Britain at the time and he hoped to do all the U.S. 100s until they exploded in numbers. He feels that the hardest 100 he finished was H.U.R.T 100 in Hawaii, which he finished in 34:26:00 in 2007.

As James Elson’s Centurion Running events were established in 2011 on trails in the UK, he became a regular at these events, finishing nearly all of their 100-milers. He has 42 Centurion 100-miler finishes with only one DNF. He has achieved nine “grand slams” which requires finishing four of these 100s within a single calendar year. In Centurion Running’s hall of fame, he is far out in the lead by miles. He never uses crew or pacers.

In recent years, Ken completed about 4-8 100-milers per year but competes in many other shorter distances, running a race nearly every weekend. He intends to continue running 100s and still has the ability to run sub-24-hour 100s at his age. When asked what his secret to his running longevity, he simply said, “good fortune” and motivation.

Will Sprouse

Will “Iron Will” Sprouse, (115+ finishes) age 54 in 2023, a restaurateur from Kansas, finished his 100^th race of at least 100 miles on December 29, 2023, at Across the Years, held in Glendale, Arizona, in 31:24:25, making him the 28^th person in the world to reach that milestone. Will began running to lose weight, dropping 156 pounds over time and started running marathons in 2005. He ran his first ultra in 2009. But in 2010, he crashed his motorcycle when a dog jumped out in front of him. He 46 bones and was told by doctors that he would never run again. Determined, starting slowly, he regained his ability to run. In less than a year, he finished an ultra again.

Will ran his first 100-miler in 2012 at Rocky Raccoon 100, in Texas, and quickly got hooked on running that distance. Most of his 100s have been on fairly flat courses in the Midwest United States. Of those in the 100×100 club, he was one of the few that set a firm life goal to reach 100 100-milers early in his 100-mile running career. He even wanted to break the record for the most 100-mile finishes in a single year, in 2020. But then the pandemic hit and shut down most races.

He pushed on and was well on his way to achieve his 100×100 goal, finishing his 65^th in 2020, his 15^th 100-miler during the pandemic year. A few days after finishing that race, he experienced a serious, life-threatening stroke from a heart birth defect, losing feeling on the right side of his body. His recovery was long and hard, with many surgeries and setbacks, but he was determined to walk and run again. The doctors were supportive of his running, realizing that he did much better with exercise. Seven months later, he finished Run OK 100 in 32:22:00. His pace for 100 miles had slowed by several hours. He had trouble with trail races, DNFs occurred, but his pace improved over the months.

Will became a race director, putting on the Iron Will 100 in Junction City, Kansas, on a friendly course for those with balance issues, with a generous cut-off time. His “Aid Station Pub and Pizza” restaurant is like a sports bar geared toward running, with all of his race bibs and belt buckles proudly displayed. Determined to reach his 100^th 100-miler before the end of 2023, he finished four that December showing his iron will. He is the most determined member ever in the 100×100 club.

Bobby Keogh

Bobby Keogh, (100+ finishes), age 74 in 2023, of Tijeras, New Mexico, finished his 100^th race of at least 100 miles on February 17, 2024, at Grandmaster Ultras, in Littlefield, Arizona in 31:54:00, making him the 29^th person in the world to reach that milestone. He is also the oldest runner to achieve it. Bobby ran his first ultra in 1981 and finished his first 100-miler in 1994 at age 45, at Leadville Trail 100, a race he has finished twelve times.

In 2000, he finished the difficult Grand Slam of Ultrarunning (Four of the classic 100-milers in one calendar year), and repeated that amazing feat in 2001. In 2001, he became a regular at Rocky Raccoon 100 in Texas, finishing that race seventeen times with his best time of 18:34:20 for an 8^th place.  He has reached 100 miles in at least 34 different venues across America.

Into his 70s, Bobby was determined to reach the 100×100 milestone and worked hard to achieve it. Injuries and many DNFs started to get in the way achieving that goal, but he stuck with it and in 2023, reached 100 miles six times, including at two six-day races, with 300 miles at Across the Years. Bobby has run in at least 16 six-day races and reached 502 miles in a ten-day race in 2020 at the age of 70.