1978 24-hour races - Ed Dodd and Don Choi

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:37 — 34.7MB)

By Davy Crockett

1978 was the year when more 100-mile and 24-hour races started to be established in the United States. In 1976, Tom Osler of New Jersey brought renewed American ultrarunning attention to the 24-hour run when he ran a solo 24-hour run on that track at Glassboro State College where he was teaching. (see episode 67). Enthusiasm for attempting to race for more than 100 miles in 24 hours started to spread.

Two very influential ultrarunning pioneers, Ed Dodd, of Collingswood, New Jersey, and Don Choi of San Francisco, California, brought their race directing and running skills to the 24-hour arena in the 1978. These two legendary runners developed a friendship during that year which would later result in the reestablishment of the modern-era multi-day races, including the renowned six-day race. Dodd and Choi can be considered the “fathers” of the modern multi-day ultras. This all came about as Dodd uncovered the history of 19th century Pedestrians, and they both gained experience running 100 miles in 1978, and put on ultramarathons.

Please help support this podcast. I’ve joined a partnership with Ultrarunning Magazine. I can offer a 25% discount on Ultrarunning Magazine subscriptions and renewals. Visit https://ultrarunning.com/ultrarunning-history/ Subscribe or renew today with this link. The March 2021 issue includes Gary Cantrell’s run across America and the top 2020 Fastest Known Time performances.

First modern-era American 24-hour races

24-hour attempts and records returned in the post-war modern era of ultrarunning in the early 1950s when Wally Hayward (1908-2006) of South Africa broke the world record in 1953, running on a track in London, reaching 159 miles, 562 yards (see episode 61).

In 1967, Steve Seymour (1920-1973), an Olympic athlete in the javelin throw, established the first modern-era American 24-hour race, which was held indoors on the Los Angeles Athletic Club indoor track. It was called the “24-hour Last Day Run” and was held annually on Halloween (see episode 6). Seymour reached 100 miles in the 1967 inaugural race.

On September 6, 1969, an African-American maintenance worker, father of seven children, Jared R. Beads (1928-1996), age 41, ran solo 121 miles, 440 yards in 22:27 on a high school track at Timonium, Maryland. It was thought to be the best unofficial track mark in America in 66 years. “A dozen friends kept records of times he circled the track, jogged along with him, and passed him sodas and fruit.”

Later that year, Lu Dosti, of California, improved the American 24-hour record to 127 miles on the Los Angeles indoor track. In 1970, Miki Gorman became the first modern-era woman to cover 100 miles in 24-hours on the same track in 1970, reaching 100 miles in 21:04:04 for a world record (see episode 64).

In 1976, Tom Osler of New Jersey, ran 114 miles on an outdoor track at Glassboro State College as a fund-raising event and as an experiment for a run/walk ratio test. He reached 100 miles in 18:19:27. (see episode 67). In 1977 Max Telford also ran a solo road 24-hour run in Hawaii, reaching 155 miles (see episode 69).

More than a dozen modern-era 24-hour races on the track were held in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa before 1978. But track 24-hour races were slow to return to America. The stage was set for the return.

Ed Dodd

Edward Levi Dodd Jr. (1946-) was originally from Drexel Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Edward Levi Dodd Sr (1923-1994), was a machinist, and mother, Theresa Wellock Dodd (1927-2003) was a receptionist at a doctor’s office.

In 1960, as a freshman at a Catholic Prep School, St. Joseph’s, in Philadelphia, Dodd became introduced to running. He explained, “That summer, a bunch of us went to a local high school track and thought we would try to run around the track ten times. We didn’t even know how far it was. We ran around and got done, huffing and puffing and lying around, and this guy comes up and says, ‘you guys look pretty good, you should do cross country.’ We asked, ‘what’s cross country?’ He was one of the local high school cross country coaches at the time. He told us what it was and we said, ‘Oh, that sounds pretty cool,’” That fall when he started high school, he recalled what this coach had told him and convinced a friend to join the team with him.

Later that spring he also joined the track team and ran the mile. He continually improved and finally won a cross-country race when he was a senior. His best mile time was 4:57. Since his school was right in the heart of north Philadelphia, the team would be bussed to Fairmount Park for cross-country practice and ran on a 2.3-mile course with one hill around the reservoir mostly on grass. Championship races of up to 30 km were run in the park each year.

Ed Dodd with his senior home-room buddies, all taking 3rd year Greek together.

“At the end of my sophomore year, I got into road races. I met Browning Ross, Tom Osler, and Harry Berkowitz. Then I started to get members of my team to go out and do 7-10-mile runs. Our coaches had little or no knowledge of running and for my last two years they would let me decide what the workouts would be. I would get the training knowledge from the much older guys I was running with on the roads, Browning Ross and Tom Osler.”

Browning Ross, was from Woodbury, New Jersey and had competed in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics in the Steeplechase. He founded the Road Runners Club of America, was putting on weekly road races in Philadelphia and small towns in South New Jersey that Dodd would participate in. They were usually distances of 4-10 miles along Cooper River. Many times Ross would run the race, win the race, and officiate the race, timing all the other runners coming in after him.

After graduating from high school, Dodd walked onto the cross-country and track teams at St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia. He kept improving each year and eventually received a scholarship. He ran his first marathon during his sophomore year and ran the Boston Marathon in 1965. At 5-foot-6 and 125 pounds, he has a body built for long-distance running.

Dodd studied mathematics and excelled scholastically earning a fellowship to Rutgers University to study for a PhD but after only six weeks he decided that he did not want to do that. He was destined to teach and in 1968 started to instruct advanced high school math, starting his life-long teaching career, teaching high school for 39 years and as a part-time college adjunct from 1973 to 2014.

One of his students commented about Dodd as a teacher. “How could you not love a man who made students who were deathly afraid of math feel comfortable enough to let the wall of fear down and actually learn! He was a great professor who cared enough to explain the same things over and over if you didn’t get it.”

During his early teaching career, Dodd would get up early in the morning to train and would run about two marathons per year. His running mentor, Tom Osler, a national champion 50-mile runner, and also a math professor, knew that Dodd would do well running ultras. He said, ”People who do things like mathematics tend to have a level of persistence and staying with something. You know that you’ve got a problem, you look at it from one way, another and don’t give up. I think long-distance running requires that same sort of persistence.”

Dodd ran his first ultra in 1977 at Jack Bristol’s, Lake Waramaug 50 km at Connecticut which he really enjoyed. The field was a who’s who of future ultrarunning legends. Dodd finished toward the back of the pack in 7:45 and said, ”It was just intriguing to realize that I could do it and not be completely shattered for weeks, I was sure I could still go further.”

At this race he met for the first time, 30-year-old Don Choi, of San Francisco. Dodd remembered Choi, who finished 3^rd in 6:02:40, as being quiet and humble. They became fast friends. Dodd would later invite Choi to travel back east again the following year and stay at his house to run a 12-hour race that Dodd and Osler organized to be run on a county track in Camden, New Jersey benefiting the Cancer Society.

Don Choi

Don Choi (1948-) of San Francisco, California, was a postman with a mail route on Telegraph Hill and he became a very good runner. Running wasn’t a problem for his job; he would work his mail route very quickly, in three hours, carrying a 25-pound mailbag slung over one shoulder. He was soft-spoken with a good sense of humor which concealed the fierce competitor inside.

“When Don Choi took a vacation from this San Francisco mail route, his fellow postmen weren’t eager to fill in for him. That’s because Choi ran through his rounds and usually got finished by early afternoon. He referred to the route as ‘a lot of hills, a lot of steps.’ The relief crew walked through the route, and the residents complained that the mail was much later than usual.”

In 1972 at the age of 24, Choi watched on TV, Frank Shorter’s Olympic marathon win at Munich, Germany. Choi said, “It was almost like poetry to me, because I knew he worked at that thing.” Deeply inspired, Choi began serious training, even up to 200 miles in a week. He did hill training and sometimes twice a week ran 40 miles from San Francisco to Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais and back.

At age of 25. in 1973, he was running races in Northern California, such as the Double Dipsea, which he finished in 2:05. Choi ran his first 100-miler in 1975, when he finished the Camellia Festival 100 Miler in Sacramento with a time of 18:20:05 on a concrete sidewalk course in the rain. He was also a small, thin man and could weigh a low as about 110 pounds at the end of a long race.

Choi said, “whatever I do in running, it will not compensate for shortcomings in other areas. I don’t go around telling everybody that I’m a runner. A lot of people on the mail route don’t know that I run, or they think I’m a jogger. I know that if I said that I ran 100 miles, they wouldn’t comprehend that well. When I run, I concentrate on my running. When I deliver my mail, I deliver my mail. Nobody’s perfect. I have problems. In a way certain problems do get resolved in the running, but running is something for me to enjoy.”

In 1976, Choi went to Lake Tahoe to run the Tahoe 72-miler, a road race that went all the way around Lake Tahoe counter-clockwise. The race was held on Fridays to avoid weekend traffic. At mile 65, he started to tire, but he was determined not to slow down. He recalled, “images would come up of people who influenced me in the past. So, I gave it all I had.” He set the course record of 9:45.

In 1977 he finished second in the PA-AAU 50-Miler which went from Pine Grove to Sacramento. His time was 5:59. Choi had some serious speed.

1977 Glassboro Project Santa 24-hours

The first modern-era American 24-hour race on an outdoor track was held on December 8, 1977, in Glassboro, New Jersey, on the cinder track at the stadium of Glassboro State College (now Rowan University). Tom Osler organized the race as part of the college’s annual “Project Santa” fundraiser. Runners received pledges and proceeds went to Gloucester County needy families.

Seven runners started at 5 a.m. “A group of local crazies took part in this do-it-yourself style event where participants, in a touching display of faith in human honesty, were held responsible for counting each of their laps on a hand-held counter which they provided themselves.”

For Dodd, it was his first 100-mile attempt. Osler also ran, but dropped out at mile 74 because of leg trouble. It was reported, “Edward Dodd, a college faculty member, was fighting fatigue and the frosty air at the campus track.” Rich Innamorato, from New York City also ran.

Jim Shapiro came to watch and wrote, “One wintery night, I arrived at 3 a.m. at the Glassboro track to greet a whiskery Osler. He had retired from the race after some scores of miles and was lounging around in his long underwear and watch cap as comfortably as other men sport a three-piece suit. Meanwhile his colleague, Ed Dodd, limped around under the skimpy arc lights, blanket over his shoulders, resembling nothing so much as a Civil War veteran.” Dodd remembered that Joe Greene took a photo of him during the frigid night. “I was wrapped in a blanket walking on the track with Rich Innamorato on one side and Jim Shapiro on the other. Every so often, I would stagger and bang into one of them, would hit them, and stay upright. It looked like scene from some refugee trying to escape from some place.”

In the bitter cold, Dodd was the only runner to reach 100 miles on the “cinder oval which was alternately frozen into ruts and melted into a swamp.” He reached 100 miles in 21:56:31, did another quarter mile and then stopped.

Dodd Researches Pedestrians

During late 1977, Ed Dodd came in possession of an old, dusty scrapbook filled with news clippings about Pedestrian ultra events held in the Philadelphia from 1899 to 1903. This scrapbook, that would greatly impact the reestablishment of modern-era multiday ultras and 100-milers, was compiled by a Pedestrian from the Philadelphia area. In 1958, this aged dying man, had no heirs or friends to pass his carefully compiled treasure to. While a patient at Temple University Hospital, a kind medical school intern would sit and talk with this man about his professional running career at the turn of the century. The old man decided to give his treasure to this intern, Vernon Ordiway.

Vernon Ordiway (1934-) was from Bradford, Pennsylvania. He had received a degree from Princeton University where he was a top runner on the cross-country team. Ordiway went on to attend Temple University Medical School, working as an intern in the hospital, and was an elite marathoner and graciously accepted the scrapbook gift. He then passed it on to Browning Ross who next gave it to future ultrarunner Tom Osler.

“Tom was amazed at the detailed accounts of a group of athletes called ‘pedestrians’ who competed professionally in races up to six days long. He said it was like reading ‘science fiction.’ To discover that men had covered more than 500 miles within six consecutive days was indeed incredible. He read through the scrapbook and then put it away, occasionally bringing it out to show fellow marathoners.” (Read about these six-day races in Philadelphia in the early 1900s in episode 37.)

In 1977, Osler showed the scrapbook to Dodd. Fascinated by this history that included indoor races in smoke-filled arenas, Dodd decided to research the early sport deeper. He went to libraries, including the Library of Congress, and found more old newspaper articles on microfilm about the Pedestrian era. Dodd and Osler believed they had enough content to write a book, so Dodd went to work compiling the history of Pedestrianism which was later published in the book, Ultramarathoning: The Next Challenge.

The 1978 Cooper River 12-hour Race

The friendship between Dodd and Choi continued to develop when Choi traveled to New Jersey in May, 1978, to run in Dodd and Osler’s 12-hour Race held at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, New Jersey. Choi stayed at the Dodd home where he showed Choi his Pedestrian discoveries. Choi became excited by the fascinating history and started to wish that multi-day races could be brought back to America.

The 12-hour race was held on an old 1930s 440-yard oval cinder track at Cooper River Park by the lake. With the help of the Camden County Park Commission, the old, neglected track with a cement curb, was put into wonderful shape for a race by dragging and rolling it.

The 12-hour race began at midnight on May 21, 1978 on the poorly lit track. Dodd and Choi competed in a field with 18 runners. Runners carried hand-held lap counters and the honor system was used. Once per hour, the runners would report what mile they were on.

A woman runner, Eileen Disken, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, recalled, “It started to rain around 3:00 a.m. and it was really rough until the sun started to come up. After that, I was fine. It got hot, and I’m best when it’s hot. Most of the other runners were bothered by the heat.” A bathroom was nearby, and medical help provided if needed. Choi took the lead at 7 a.m. and won with a very impressive 81 miles. Disken finished with 63 miles. (This historic track would later become the site of Dodd’s 1980 Weston Six-Day Race, the first six-day race to be held in the eastern U.S. in 77 years.)

Woodside 24-hours/100 miles

In July 1978, Choi organized a 24-hour/100-mile race on the Woodside High School track, in Woodside, California. The track surface was very nice with crushed brick. Dodd went out west to participate and stayed with Choi at his parent’s house where they further talked about the Pedestrians of years gone by. The Woodside race started at 6 a.m. on July 15, 1978 with nineteen runners. Choi hoped to break Ted Corbitt’s official American 24-hour record of 134.7 miles set in 1973, in England (see episode 65).

Two women were in the field: ultrarunning legend Ruth Anderson (1929-2016), age 48, a chemist from Oakland, California (see episode 36), and Skip Swannack (1942-), age 36, a physical education schoolteacher, from San Carlos, California. Swannack had won the 1971 Pike Peak Marathon and also that year had climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. She would later win Western States 100 in 1979 with 21:56:27, the first woman to break 24 hours in that famed race.

On the Woodside track, the day quickly turned hot. Chris Hamer and Jim Barker went out very fast, reaching 50 miles in 6:07 and 6:09, but soon burned out. Choi reached 50 miles in 6:51 and took over that lead after the other two dropped.

Dodd was crewed by his parents who came up from Scottsdale, Arizona. He fueling on highly sugared tea, and remembered the heat. “There was a bright blue sky and I didn’t use any sunscreen at all because I thought it would block my pores, one of the most stupid things I had done. I ended up a tremendous sunburn with a blister on my ankle that had be lanced the next day at a hospital.”

Among the curious spectators was a nineteen-year-old future Western States 100 legend, Tim Twietmeyer. It was the first ultra that he ever witnessed. He commented, “I spent hours watching them circle the track and watching how they paced themselves, what they were eating, and how they decided to take breaks.”

Choi continued strong into the evening and hit 100 miles in 14:44:00 for his lifetime 100-mile best. He continued on his blistered feet and pushed through fatigue, determined to improve Corbitt’s American record of 134 miles. At one point during the hot night, he began weaving around on the track. His crew ran alongside him, stuffing pieces of bread into his mouth and bumping him if he swerved too much. He recovered and went on to reach 136 miles for a new American Record (unratified). Dodd finished second and was very pleased to reach 111 miles.

The rookie race directors at the time did not understand the requirements for recording lap times. Nick Marshall explained, “To attain recognition, runners in track ultramarathons must have their exact lap times recorded every single lap of their entire runs, to hep insure against possible mistakes in lap counting. Otherwise, the results are not accepted as provably valid, and this requirement was not adhered to in the 24-hour event. Thus, by strict standards, track ultras which do not meet this standard of officiating are treated like uncertified road performances which cannot be recognized for record purposes.” Thus Corbitt’s 134 miles remained the official American record for 24 hours at that time.

In all, seven of the nineteen runners reached 100 miles, including legendary 48-year-old, Ruth Anderson who reached that milestone in 16:50:47. That was the second best 100-mile time ever recorded in the world by a woman up to that time. (Natalie Cullimore ran 16:11 on a road course in 1971, at Rocklin California. See episode 64). Skip Swannack did not reach 100 miles in under 24 hours but kept going until she reached the milestone in about 26 hours.

Woodside 24-hours/100 miles partial results

Don Choi, 30, 136 miles, 716 yards, 100 mile split 14:44:00
Ed Dodd, 32, 111 miles, 706 yards,
Abe Underwood, 40, 100 miles, 15:49:14
Ruth Anderson, 48, 100 miles, 16:50:47
Ray Wieand, 19, 100 miles, 17:56:53
Dave Niederhaus, 37, 100 miles, 19:10:53
Skip Swannack
Chris Hamer
Jim Barker

1978 Glassboro 24-hours

A few months later, on October 28, 1978, another 24-hour race was held. It was competed on the Glassboro College track. Nine starters toed the line including greatest American ultrarunner of that time, Park Barner of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (See episode 51). Dodd and Choi also competed. Barner had done some serious preparation for the race, including a 203-mile training run about two weeks earlier from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with no sleep and only three meals, in 36:43:20.

From the start, Choi grabbed the lead. It was reported. “Choi was breezing along at an eight-minute-mile clip. He flew in from his home in San Francisco in order to take part in the event, which offers no rewards other than self-satisfaction and a cardiovascular system like you wouldn’t believe.” Choi built up an 18-lap lead on Barner by hour eleven. He kept his lead, arriving at 100 miles in 14:54:27, ten minutes ahead of Barner, who reached that point in 15:04. But the cool temperatures and a sore ankle caused the Californian, Choi to drastically slow down and walk. He eventually quit in 20.5 hours with 113 miles, 1320 yards because he just couldn’t generate the body heat to continue. Choi said of Barner, “People always ask me, ‘Is he human?’”

Barner ran in a T-shirt and shorts the entire time while the other runners were bundled up. During the race he drank three quarts of Gatorade, two quarts of diluted orange juice, one quart of coffee, and 1 ½ gallons of water. Before Power Bars existed, Barner would eat frozen chocolate cookie dough during his ultras.

At mile 103, Barner stopped briefly to change shoes because he could feel the cinders through the thin-soled shoes he was using. He continued on and broke Choi’s American record with 152 miles, 1599 yards. Unfortunately again, lap timing was improperly taken and thus his record remained unratified. The World Record at that time was held by Ron Bentley (1930-2019) of England who ran 161 miles (see episode 65). Barner would next set his sights on that record.

Don Choi and Park Barner (three years later) at Cooper River track

Dodd recalled how tough it was toward the end. He asked someone to time a lap that he would run. He then asked them to time the next lap which he walked. There was only a ten second difference so his running pace had substantially degraded. “That was very depressing to realize that I could only run 10 seconds faster than I was walking.” He decided to walk the rest of the way.

Choi finished second with 113 miles 1320 yards, and Dodd was third with 113 miles 1100 yards in 20 hours before leaving the track. He didn’t realize how close he was to Choi’s distance and finished only one lap short of Choi.

After the race, Barner commented that he could have run 300 miles and wondered when someone would hold a 48-hour race. Dodd recalled, “I was lying in a van after the race, getting ready to puke, when I saw Park Barner put his stuff in a small Volkswagen bug and drive off to run a 50-mile race the next day in Baltimore. I never saw him tired. He was amazing.” Barner indeed drove to Maryland and ran the 50-miler the next day, where he finished 5^th in 8:16:21.

1978 Glassboro 24-hours partial results:

Park Barner, 34, 152 miles, 1599 yards, 100 mile split 15:05:10
Don Choi, 30, 113 miles, 1320 yards, 100 mile split 14:54:27
Ed Dodd, 32, 113 miles, 1100 yards, 100 mile split 19:44:42
Eileen Disken, 104 miles, 1100 yards
Harry Richards, 103 miles, 880 yards
Eric Roger, 102 miles, 880 yards
Tom Osler, 101 miles, 660 yards

Choi and Dodd Organize the First Modern-era Six-day Races

Inspired by the history of the Pedestrians compiled by Dodd, in 1980, Choi went on to organize and hold the first modern-era six-day race on the track at Woodside, California. It was named, “Spirit of ’80 6-Day Track Race.” Four runners competed. Choi won that historic race with 401 miles. Twenty-one-year-old, tobacco-chewing Tim Twietmeyer, referred to as, “the kid” by the other veteran ultrarunners, finished 100 miles at this event for the first time in 22:41:26. Other runners thought he as a bit odd, wearing a dress shirt and listening to rock music from a portable radio as he ran.

Dodd had planned to run the race but injured his back a few weeks before and was terribly disappointed to miss the historic event. This motivated him to organize his own six-day event, held a few week later, held on August 23, 1980, the “Edward Payson Weston Six-Day Go As-You-Please Invitational Track Race” at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, New Jersey. four runners went the distance and Choi won again with 425 miles, extending his new modern-era world record. Choi cried at the finish and said, “I’m an emotional runner and this is the most involved I’ve ever been in a race.” Dodd finished with 276 miles.

More will be shared about both Dodd and Choi in future episodes that will cover the six-day races. Dodd continued to run ultras for one of the longest ultrarunning careers ever, finishing more that 40 100+ milers. In 2021, at the age of 74, Dodd still lives in New Jersey and continues to run ultras. Choi was the most prolific six-day runner in the 1980s, winning more that 30 ultras and directed many multi-day races. In 1997, Choi ran his last ultra at the age of 48. In 2021 he is 72 years old and still living in San Francisco, California.

The parts of this 100-mile series:

Sources

Tom Osler and Ed Dodd, Ultramarathoning: The Next Challenge
Nick Marshall, 1977 and 1978 Ultradistance Summary
James E. Shapiro, Ultramarathon
Andy Milroy, North American Ultrarunning: A History
NorCal Running Review, No. 73, 1978
Interview with Ed Dodd, March 5, 2021
The Bradford Era (Pennsylvania), Jan 6, 1954
The Baltimore Sun (Maryland), Sep 8, 1969
Courier-Post (Camden, New Jersey), Dec 9, 1977, May 24, Oct 30, 1978
The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Oct 28, 1978
Daily News (New York, New York), Jul 3, 1983
The New York Times, Jul 25, 2004

74: The 100-miler: Part 21 (1978) Ed Dodd and Don Choi

By Davy Crockett