The 100-miler: Part 15 (1975-1976) Andy West

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By Davy Crockett

Since the dawn of the sport of ultrarunning more than a century ago, a unique breed of ultrarunner has existed which I will call the “self-promoter.” They were skilled in using their running talents to gain fame and fortune, mostly by doing “stunts” rather than participating in competitions. There is nothing inherently wrong with seeking to make a living this way. Before World War II, most ultrarunners were “professionals” who lived off winnings, wagers, and gate receipts from doing stunts.

But sadly, many self-promoters would make false claims, play on the sympathies of a gullible public, and some would resort to fraud and thievery. When telling the history of the sport, these stories of self-promoters must be delicately pointed out so that their achievements can put in their proper place. Caution must be used to sort through a multitude of claims to find the legitimate. In 1985, Gary Cantrell (of Barkley fame) warned the sport about this type of runner who would step forward to claim an undeserved spotlight for gain, disrespecting the entire sport. Ultrarunning historian, Andy Milroy, explained that there were indeed some true scam artists that were quite skilled at their craft. “Many of the rest were delusional who believed they had run the distances claimed. Most saw it as an easy meal ticket.”

Self-promoting practices crept into 100-mile history and had a place in it, good or bad. Typically, once the runner received some fame, they performed self-promoting stunts to gain local or national attention, often in the guise of raising money for charity. Some were scammers who were hard to detect at the time, and they were mostly adored. Others were legitimate talents who figured out creative ways to shine the spotlight on their accomplishments. Patterns of behavior of these runners have been similar over the decades.

Most of these ultra-distance runners had true talent, would become serious self-promoters, and then would shy away from true competition against the best in the sport. Instead of competing, they put on stunts that would impress others. Their goal was typically to get their names in the Guinness Book of World Records, which during the 1970s had low standards of verification.

These runners often claimed their own created “world records,” sought after speaking engagements, and inspired many with their stories (with a little or a lot of fiction sprinkled in). Occasionally a skeptical reporter would find out that many of their accomplishments were actually falsified, that they claimed feats that never happened. Not all self-promoters were frauds, but most of the frauds were self-promoters who claimed they were the best ultrarunners in the world.

Past Examples

Over the years, many self-promoting stunt artists gravitated toward accomplishing walks or runs across America, or even the entire world in record times, or doing other such amazing accomplishments. In the early 1900s an army of “globe trotters” showed up in towns nearly every month in the Midwest United States, claiming to be on amazing journeys on foot, seeking lecture opportunities and free room and board. More than 90% of them were frauds. (See episodes 23, 40, and 41).

Some runners just made claims about things they did in long-past years that were impossible to verify at the time. An early example was Dumirtru Dan (1890-1978), who became a Romanian hero in the late 1960s. He claimed that he walked 60,000 miles in 1910-1916, all over the world in an “amazing race” of hundreds of runners. He spent the latter years of his life touring, increasing his fame, lecturing, and teaching children about geography using his tales. He was kind and loved by all. Years after his death, nearly $100,000 was spent for a room in a museum about him, his grave was made into a shrine, and an endurance race is still named after him. But sadly, no one took the time to verify his impossible claims, most of which never happened. (See episode 42.)

In more recent years, some publicized runners claimed various world records while working with various charities. They accomplished many stunts and later were faced with discrepancies in their claims. In September 1979, Stan Cottrell of Georgia, a fitness consultant, claimed that he broke the 24-hour world record by running solo 167 miles on a high school track. Later it became evident that most of his claims were exaggerated or did not happen, despite his good efforts organizing “friendship runs.” Others sought fame and fortune in ultrarunning using similar strategies. It happened more than we probably know and continues today.

Why cover this? In the 1975, a young self-promoting talented runner became part of the 100-mile history. After gaining national fame, he sadly turned to fraud. The fascinating story of Andy West is a cautionary tale to beware of the self-promoting, charity-raising ultrarunner. In the next episode, I will cover two other self-promoters who were truly great ultrarunners of the mid-1970s that learned to successfully use their fame to inspire with a bit of “over the top” claims.

Andy West of Connecticut

In the mid-1970s, Andrew “Andy” W. West (1958-) was a high school student from Glastonbury, Connecticut, and attended Howell Cheney Technical School in Manchester, Connecticut. He came from a large family of six children but had a troubled family life because his father was in and out of jail for substance abuse and theft charges involving drugs.

Young West learned at an early age that he could profit off of running. He said he began running at the age of nine. “We lived in the country and the local store was three miles away. I made a deal with my friends. I ran to the store to buy them their candy, but ten percent of the candy went to me. That was my payoff for doing the running.”

West was a charismatic, popular young man in high school. He was instrumental in forming his school’s cross-country team and became one of their top runners. He made a big impact on his school. The cross-country coach said, “The spirit of the school is very high. We have kids out for the team that never ran before.”

As a sophomore, West won the high school division of an annual Thanksgiving five-mile road race. He also finished his first 10-miler in and impressive 57 minutes. He had visions of running Boston Marathon someday but said, “I’m still underage at this point.” (Later he said he didn’t run in the 1973 marathon because he had mono and hepatitis.)

In August 1974, when just 16 years old, he claimed to run 300 miles to Canada in a week to get local attention to support his team. It delighted him to see newspaper articles about his run.

1975 100-mile Run

In 1975, still at the age 16, when he was a high school junior, he came up with the idea to run 100 miles to raise funds for Newington Children’s Hospital where a friend’s sister was being treated. On May 23^rd at noon, he started his run around a half-mile cross-country trail on the high school grounds that had some rough terrain. He rested for 10-20 minutes every two hours and after 50 miles stopped to have a support bandage put on his left knee and have his ankles wrapped. A crew of students supplied him with juice, salt tablets, yogurt, honey, and other protein-rich foods. Sometimes he ran alone, but often with teachers, fellow students, his mother, sister, and even his dog “Puddles.”

West finished his 100 miles in 23:31:00, running 200 laps. After he finished, he chatted briefly after his run while chewing on ice cubes and said his immediate plans for the rest of the day were to take a shower, a whirlpool bath and then to get some sleep.

1976 24-hour World Record Attempt

West loved the attention he received, spoke at city clubs, became his senior class president, and next started to focus on reaching even bigger miles, in a 24-hour run. West naively believed he could break Ron Bentley’s 1973 24-hour world record of 161 miles (see episode 65). He officially registered with the Guinness organization, proclaiming his attempt to compete for the world title. He planned to break the record with 90 minutes to spare and intended to reach 168 miles. He would again run to raise funds for the Children’s Hospital.

West started his attempt on May 21, 1976, on the same half-mile loop trail around the school. “Amid the cheers and applause of his classmates, West started on his first lap around the school campus at a few minutes after noon, under blue skies and breezy temperatures in the high 60s, which he called ‘perfect weather’ for running.”

But things went south quickly. Soon black thunderclouds rolled in and let loose a severe downpour that forced 17-year-old West to take a half-hour break. He had planned to only stop ten minutes every ten miles. This time he consumed high-proteins fluids, sardines, and peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches.

As West continued, he experienced severe stomach cramps and tried to cure them by drinking diluted baking soda. He was not able to keep down much food and repeatedly threw up. In the end, he reached slightly more than 100 miles. His coach, John Widden said, “He did well, considering the circumstances.”

Run from Maine to Florida

Graduated from high school and voted the student who gave the greatest contribution to his school, West figured out that he might have a career in running, rather than going to college. He was first employed as a computer programmer, but quit the job because he said it took too much time away from his running. He added, “Anyway, I didn’t like the job very much.” He told people that he was an Olympic hopeful for the 1980 games and that he had run in the Boston Marathon (he never did, and never raced in any marathon.) He claimed his best marathon time was 2:40.

Next in his plans, West wanted to run from Maine to Florida because he believed no one had ever accomplished it. (Rich Innamorato of New York had previously accomplished the run in 71 days in 1976. West certainly knew this, but never mentioned it to the press). It took him two years to pull the stunt together and he quit his job to do it. He was sponsored by Travelers Company who covered expenses with $20,000 and the Jaycees. The Jaycees made sure that in each town he would be provided free meals and public appearances. He claimed to be raising $100,000 to fight muscular dystrophy.

The Send-off

West’s most famous run was billed as, “West Runs South for Those Can’t.” On June 27, 1978, West received a hero’s sendoff from his hometown in Connecticut. “Tuesday’s ceremonies, under hot and humid skies, also included a very professional rendition of a song especially written for West’s run called ‘Six Million Steps.'” (The song later became a hit in the United Kingdom.) “West, looking tanned and fit, and trotted to the microphone for a few words.” He said, “People have been using the word attempt today. I want to set the record straight. I will run from Maine to Florida. I’ve run 3,500 miles this year so far to get in shape.” (That was an extremely unlikely average of 140 miles per week.)

West planned to stop in 56 cities where he would help the Jaycees raise funds for charity. Advance men would travel ahead to line up promotions and handle the media. “West needed no prompting Tuesday to answer the obvious question of why. ‘To raise a lot of money for Jerry’s kids,’ he said in a very casual manner.” He left his hometown in a camper, destined for his starting point in Maine.

At Caribou, Maine, a benefit pre-run spaghetti dinner was held and the mayor proclaimed that day as “West Day” and gave him the key to the city. Flags and banners were hung on the streets of the city in celebration. All attention was on West. “West will wear size 11 shoes, no socks, and will eat lots of spaghetti. Andy plans to cover about 40-45 miles a day from 4 a.m. to noon.”

The Start

On July 1, 1978, at 12:30 p.m., West, age 19, started running to the cheering of a crowd of 200 and band playing. He was dressed in a red jogging outfit adorned by several pins from the Caribou Jaycees. Joe McGill was his manager who his press spokesman. On day six, West arrived in Rockland Maine. McGill claimed that West had run 52 miles that day in ten hours. He was averaging about 40 miles per day. As he ran into Rockland, traffic was blocked off and 200 screaming fans lined the streets.

At Boston, he was greeted by 600 fans. He mentioned that he had run the Boston Marathon three times. When he was not found in the results, he changed his story and said he had run as an unregistered entrant (bandit runner). West was making a huge splash. When he arrived at Providence, Rhode Island, the mayor proclaimed it “Andy West Day” at city hall ceremonies.

Running through New Jersey heat, reporters notice an oxygen tank in his crew car. He explained that New Jersey’s air was terrible because of the pollution. “Everyone’s exhaust fumes are just sticking around. Carbon monoxide burns the inside of the lungs. If you can’t get oxygen in the blood, you’re in trouble.” He added, “If it gets tough, I just think of who I am running for.” He was also questioned about many beer bottles seen in his camper. West explained that he drank a six pack of beer a day for the carbohydrates. Each evening, a spaghetti dinner was arranged, inviting the public to eat with him, but charging $3 a plate. His publicity crew were greatly exaggerating the number of miles he had run, nearly 200 miles more than he actually ran so far.

The South – Pace Increases

In the very hot and humid South, all of a sudden, West’s daily average miles significantly increased. About half of his miles were “run” in the cloak of darkness, during the early morning, when no one was around. They had a schedule to keep. At Deland, Florida, he said, “I’m sore. I shouldn’t admit it. I don’t like to admit it, but I’m sore all over but don’t have time for rest.” He said he was suffering from tonsillitis and an ear infection, and had been given shots, but somehow was still doing daily runs of up to 66 miles.

About life on the road, he said, “People react from one extreme to the other. Some scream obscenities, other people are great, they throw me beers. Some of the time I have company, joggers and bicycle riders for brief stints.”

Things were not always rosy. While running in the South, a disagreement arose between West and the Jaycees over the extreme number of long-distance phone calls made by his entourage and over the cost to replace stereos and clothing damaged during the trip.

West continued at an improbable furious pace of 60 miles per day through Florida with plenty of energy after his daily runs for public appearances. He was given the key to the city by the mayor of Fort Pierce, Florida who said, “They say you should give more of yourself. I don’t know how much more he can give.”

The Finish

West arrived at Marathon, Florida on September 2^nd, right on schedule. “In the last few miles of the run, passing motorists also handed over money. One-dollar, five-dollar, and 10-dollar bills hung from the elastic on his shorts.” He claimed a run of about 2,400 miles in 64 days. It was reported, “Leading the 2,000 cheering greeters at the finish line Saturday was a youngster who can’t run a step, the muscular dystrophy poster child, who handed West a bouquet of roses from a wheelchair.” Nearly every newspaper across the country carried the story about his finish and West claimed that he had raised between $80,000-$100,000 for muscular dystrophy.

It all sounded so very good. However, analyzing his pace using reports in newspapers, shows that just like many of the journey runners from the past, he started out fine, probably realized it was impossible for him to stay on schedule, and then took rides covering increasingly longer daily distances in the South, including a 79-mile day in Georgia. Did he take rest days along the way? Only one day of rest was mentioned in the news. He also claimed that he drank 400 gallons of beer along the way.

The Hero

West returned home to Connecticut and received a hero’s welcome. He was now a celebrity, received national attention, and immediately flew out to Las Vegas for the Jerry Lewis muscular dystrophy telethon. All the attention went to the young man’s head. Yes, sadly, West turned into a self-promoting fraud. He did speaking engagements, raised money for charities, and claimed he had many college track scholarship offers. He still claimed to be an Olympic hopeful (although changed the date to the 1984 Olympics). Obviously this was false because he was not running in any legitimate races and likely would not be considered an amateur anymore.

West tried to present a persona that he didn’t like the spotlight on himself. “I run for kids. I won’t make a run unless I’m sponsored for charity. The records alone don’t mean anything to me.” He soon falsely boasted that earlier in 1977 he had run a world record 167 miles in 24-hours. Just two weeks after his supposedly grueling run to Florida, he staged a 24-hour run around a track in Caribou, Maine for charity. He claimed that he covered 164 miles. The fraudulent stunts continued where he collected autographs and kisses from teen-age girls.

Riding the Fame

West with manager Joe McGill (left) and trainer Jim McCarthy (right)

West continued to ride his fame. He was the celebrity starter for many races in the Connecticut area. In November 1978 he appeared on CBS’s TV show “P.M. Magazine” who promoted him as “a runner who has a good chance of making it to the Olympics.” A month later he appeared as featured extra in a movie. During the early part of 1979, he visited an estimated 75 high schools giving talks and slide-shows.

In July 1979, at the age of 21, West tried to run for 24 hours on a treadmill at a mall in Hartford, Connecticut with an 8-degree incline, receiving kisses along the way from teen-age girls. He continued without witnesses through the night, and the next day stopped after 23 hours, claiming 132 miles. He said he stopped only because his manager and medical personnel urged him to quit. He was taken to a hospital, but they could not find anything wrong with him and he was released.

Just one week later, he was highlighted at a baseball game in Bristol, Connecticut. He ran into the stadium with “thunderous applause” claiming that he just finished a 157-mile run in 24 hours from Fenway Park in Boston on a charity run. “After touching third base and home plate, he was taken to the local hospital suffering from a slight case of dehydration. West later returned to the ballpark to sign autographs.”

West tried to break into Hollywood and auditioned for several movie roles. He even submitted photographs of himself for a centerfold feature in Playgirl Magazine, but it didn’t work out.

Plans for Florida to Los Angeles Run

Next, West wanted to circumnavigate the country on foot in a four-year-project he called, “West Runs America.” He said he would use it to train for the Olympics. But the expensive, bizarre idea didn’t attract sponsor interest. He was told it had already been done, so he scaled it back to a transcontinental run from Florida to Los Angeles. He devised a scheme to first raise an extravagant $35,000 in donations to support himself on his run. Then, during the run he would start raising a planned $250,000 for cystic fibrosis. The gullible public believed him.

72 Hour Run

In July 1980, West put together a 72-hour “charity run” around the Hartford Civic Center to line his pockets for his Florida to California run, still all in the name of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He was bothered by the low turnout. “They don’t have to remember me, but for the reason why I’m here.” The heat was oppressive in the mid-90s. Those who passed by would leave donations at a table in front of a camper where he rested. A bank gave him $7,200. He claimed falsely that he reached 250 miles during the run but did pocket several thousand dollars.

The Scheme Evolves

West continued to visit high schools doing presentations. But he wasn’t just there to speak, he was there to raise money for his planned run. During his visits he would try to convince the schools to sponsor one day of his planned run. The newspaper reported, “Attired in denim overalls and white running shoes, West paced the high school stage answering questions about his fund raising efforts.”

During his visits, he would also put on “fund-raising” dances at the schools, acting as the disc jockey, charging $3 per person, going into his personal “charity” in the name of Cystic Fibrosis. Students that raised at least $5 for him, could enter the dance for free. He also promised free running clothes for those who raised the largest amount of money for him. At one school, a total of $1,300 was raised for West. He replicated this scheme at many other schools.

Claiming to be a representative of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, West convinced students from the middle and high schools in East Granby, Connecticut to go door-to-door to solicit donations for his run.

West’s Fraud Comes to Light

Eventually people started catching on to West’s scam. In 1981 the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Connecticut accused West of raising up to $14,000 from high school students in the foundation’s name. They said that they had never given him permission to do so. West accused the foundation of trying to ruin his reputation and threatened to sue them. “Their claim is entirely false. I am, in the long run, raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.” West was engaging in what came to be known as “noble cause corruption.”

Newspapers reported that West had endorsed checks made out to the Foundation and put them into his personal non-profit “Connecticut for Kids” account to fund his Florida to California run. The Foundation’s director reported that they had never received any money from West’s fund-raising efforts. He reported that previously West had tried to sign the Foundation up for his run, but he was told they would not, unless he adhered to the Foundation’s financial and accounting controls. He had also been told several months earlier that he needed a state permit to become a professional solicitor. West never obtained a permit. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation took their case to the State Department of Consumer Protection.

West said his bank account would not be opened until his lawyer approved. He said, “Maybe it’s illegal, and maybe it’s not.” He stopped raising money once the Foundation sent letters to all Connecticut high schools. Schools cancelled many assemblies that West was scheduled to speak at. West later said, “I was angry at first, then bitter. Kids had looked up to me and all of a sudden, I was a crook. I kind of shut off everyone around me. I had trouble understanding.”

It was reported, “The rise and fall of Andy West started as a dream come true that was then shattered in the slick world of big-time fund raising. Many people who know West believe he was seduced by his fame.” His cross-country coach from high school came forward and said, “He might have been a good [ultrarunner] if he would have trained seriously. He wasn’t disciplined to train. He did too many other things. He found out that he could get fame from running. He needed publicity. He was crying out for attention. He was smart enough to know he could do something good and gain attention.” West’s mother noticed the change in him and had never been in favor of his run to Florida. She said, “When the TV picked him up, it was a little different. He got a celebrated name and thought more of himself than necessary.”

More than two years later, the State of Connecticut decided to not pursue charges against West because they did not have enough solid proof. West declared that his name had finally been cleared and demanded an apology from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. They did not issue one.

What Happened to West?

Five years later, in 1986, West went into publishing and launched the Greater Hartford Business Magazine. Just a month later, after only one issue was published, he was fired by the publishing company that he founded. The publisher quickly changed the name of the magazine and said, “we have divorced ourselves from Andy West.” They explained in a press release that the reason for West’s departure was “irreconcilable differences.”

In 1989, it seemed that West has turned over a new leaf. He said he was not running anymore because of arthritis. On his own, he started repairing and painting park benches and picnic tables across Hartford for nothing. Others joined in. He organized a non-profit, “Urban Initiatives Inc” to raise money.

But West started doing things without city permission, like planting trees wherever he wanted, including digging up holes in a city park. He said, “Permission takes too long.” He created a public stink with the city over the tree controversy when they pulled the trees out. For years, he was a thorn in the side of the city, coming up with urban improvement schemes that never worked out or were never accepted. One scheme raised $350,000 and fizzled. He was sued over misappropriating funds. A newspaper columnist called him “an attractive street-wide hustler.”

West’s Final Run

In August 1992, West, age 34, went back to his old ways and staged a 24-hour run around Hartford Civic Center to raise one million dollars for his own “Kid’s First” charity. He said, “This is my last run. It’s a part of my life I’m going to complete.” He used a national “900” telephone number to collect $7 for every call.

West soon changed his run into a continuous run of many days, until the one million dollars was raised. He began on August 8, 1992. After 19 days, he quit and claimed he had run 1,100 miles. As usual, he said his medical staff advised him to quit. He was very disappointed that only $16,400 had been pledged. He said, “I find it hard to reconcile that the Northern Spotted Owl has twenty-six million dollars, but we can’t raise one million dollars for Connecticut’s children.” To the delight of most of the people in Hartford, Connecticut, West finally moved away in 1993, once it was clear that the public considered him to be a self-promoting fraud with schemes that constantly fizzled, all in the name of charity.

West found his way to Texas and continued his fraudulent business practices. He first lost one million dollars in a casino scheme. In 2000, he was successfully sued for $100,000, for breach of contract and fraud. From 1999-2009 he lost at least six other lawsuits against him. In 2007 he got into big trouble with the Texas Security Board when he was offering and selling bridge loans and promissory notes with an annual interest rate of 12%, without being registered with the state, and for intentionally failing to disclose his past fraudulent activities.

Yes, that was a very sad story of a gifted, charismatic young ultrarunner, who sought for easy life and fame, on the backs of others using charitable causes to justify his schemes. Beware the self-promoting ultrarunner who claims world records and performs stunts to raise money for their own charities.

The parts of this 100-mile series:

Sources:

Hartford Courant (Connecticut), Oct 6, 1974, May 25, Jun 3, 1975, Apr 18, May 8, 21-23, Jun 8, 1976, Jun 28, Sep 19, Nov 12, Dec 5, 1978, Jul 13, 22, 1979, Jul 17, Nov 7, 21, Dec 12, 1980, Mar 12, 15, 1981, Mar 13, June, 25, Oct 6, 1983, Feb 20, Mar 10, May 12, 1986, Oct 30, 1989, Apr 19, 1990, Nov 17, 1991, Aug 6, 27, 1992, May 28, 1994
The Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine) Jun 23, July 1, 1978
The Orlando Sentinel (Florida), Jul 3, Aug 24, 1978
Spokane Chronicle (Washington), Jul 7, 1978
Journal Gazette (Mattoon, Illinois), Jul 13, 1978
The Central New Jersey Home News (New Brunswick, New Jersey), Jul 23, 1978
North Adams Transcript (Massachusetts), Jul 23, 1978
The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Florida), Aug 27, 1978
The Miami Herald (Florida), Aug 29, 31, 1978
Tallahassee Democrat (Florida), Jan 8, 1979
The Press-Tribune (Roseville, California), Nov 1, 1979
Texas Security Board in the matter of Andrew W. West

68: The 100-miler: Part 15 (1975-1976) Andy West

By Davy Crockett

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