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100: Western States 100 – The First Finishers on Foot

By Davy Crockett and Phil Lowry

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Western States 100 Awards BanquetIn Auburn, California, on the evening of July 30, 1972, an awards banquet was held at the fairgrounds for the finishers of the Western States Trail Ride, also known as the Tevis Cup. There was additional excitement that year among the exhausted riders, who early that morning had finished the most famous endurance ride in the world. Not only would the 93 riders receive their finisher belt buckles, but they would witness a trophy awarded to the first person in history to finish the famed trail, not on a horse, but on foot. The special trophy was made and would be presented by the ride’s founder, and president, Wendell Robbie.

But when the trophy was presented, it was not awarded to Gordy Ainsleigh. His important accomplishment would come two years later. He was not the first to finish Western States on foot, despite the marketing hype you may have been told for 45 years. Ainsleigh was in the audience and watched the trophy and other awards go to the true first finishers. This is the story that has been left out of Western States 100 history.

Note: Also listen to the audio episode for a discussion at the end between the two researchers/authors of this article.

 

Learn the true history of Western States 100, including this story in the new books covering the history of the 100-milers. This true story is covered in detail in part two: https://ultrarunninghistory.com/100miles2/

99: Six-Day Race Part 7: Weston Invades England (1876)

By Davy Crockett

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Edward Payson WestonThe six-day challenge (running as far as you could in six days) originally started in England during the late 1700s. Fifty years later, in the 1820s, a six-day frenzy occurred as many British athletes sought to reach 400 or more miles in six days (see episode 91). But then, six-day attempts were essentially lost for the next 50 years. Surprisingly, it was the Americans who resurrected these events in the early 1870s and brought them indoors for all to witness.

The Brits believed they owned the running sport and surely their athletes were superior and could beat the upstart Americans, Edward Payson Weston and Daniel O’Leary. It was written, “They cannot be expected to be much better than those bred in England.” Both American and British runners/walkers wanted to prove that they were the best and challenges were sent back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean. The British did not realize that in 1875, there was no one truly skilled and trained in England to do heel-toe walking for the distances that Weston and O’Leary were doing in America.  Thus, Weston took the English bait and boarded a steamship to England.

Please consider becoming a patron of ultrarunning history. Help to preserve this history by signing up to contribute a little each month through Patreon. Visit https://ultrarunninghistory.com/member

98: Six-Day Race Part 6: Weston vs. O’Leary (1875)

By Davy Crockett

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In 1875, Edward Payson Weston was the most famous ultrarunner (pedestrian) in the world. Like a heavyweight boxing champion dodging his competition to keep his crown, he avoided repeated challenges to race against the up-and-comer, Daniel O’Leary of Chicago, Illinois. The two were the most famous American athletes in 1875.

During August 1875, it was announced in New York City that plans were unfolding to hold “a grand international pedestrian tournament” in October that would include a six-day race with $1,000 going to the winner. It was hoped that all the great pedestrians including Weston and O’Leary would compete. Unfortunately, that race never unfolded, but Weston and O’Leary would soon battle head-to-head, not in New York City, but on O’Leary’s turf in Chicago.

Please consider becoming a patron of ultrarunning history. Help to preserve this history by signing up to contribute a few dollars each month through Patreon. Visit https://ultrarunninghistory.com/member

97: Six-Day Race Part 5: Daniel O’Leary (1875)

By Davy Crockett

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Daniel O'Leary
Daniel O’Leary

By March 1875, Edward Payson Weston, from New York City, was on top of the ultrarunning world (called Pedestrianism). He had just won the first six-day race in history, was the only person who had ever walked 500 miles in six days and held the 24-hour world walking record of 115 miles. Through his efforts and the promotion of P.T. Barnum, the sport had been given a rebirth and was on the front pages of newspapers across America.

Weston had won hundreds of thousands of dollars in today’s value for his exploits and obviously others wanted a piece of this action too. Was Weston one of a kind, or would others succeed in dethroning him? A true rival did emerge from Chicago, an Irishman who worked hard to try to become the best, Daniel O’Leary.

Please consider becoming a patron of ultrarunning history. Help to preserve this history by signing up to contribute a few dollars each month through Patreon. Visit https://ultrarunninghistory.com/member

96: Across the Years – The First Year (1983)

By Davy Crockett

Across the Years logoThe Across the Years race, established in 1983, is one of the oldest fixed-time races in the world that is still held annually. The race is always held at the end of the year, crossing over to the new year with a grand celebration. Through the years, it has attracted many of the greatest fixed-time ultrarunners in the world and still today is the premier and largest fixed-time race in America. Over its impressive history, about 2,500 runners have logged more than 500,000 miles at Across the Years. It all started in 1983, the brainchild of Harold Sieglaff, of Phoenix, Arizona.  This episode is a tribute to Sieglaff and the other pioneer ultrarunners who were the first to run this famed ultra.

This history and the histories of eight other classic races are contained in my new book, Classic Ultramarathon Beginnings, available on Amazon.

95: Six-Day Race Part 4: First Six-Day Race (1875)

By Davy Crockett

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Hippodrome - home of the first six-day raceP.T. Barnum featured ultrarunners (pedestrians) in 1874 who were attempting to reach 500 miles in six days, to bring paying patrons into his massive indoor Hippodrome in New York City 24-hours a day. Even though the first attempts by Edward Payson Weston and Edward Mullen came up short (see part 3), America became fascinated by these very unusual efforts of extreme endurance.

New York Life Building, where the Hippodrome once stood.

But with the failures, critics cried out that it was all just a money grab on the gullible public. It wasn’t a true race. It was said to be similar to watching “a single patient horse attached to a rural cider-press” going in circles for six days until it dropped. Experienced athletes and educated doctors believed that walking or running 500 miles in six days was an impossible feat. P.T. Barnum, “a sucker is born every minute,” did not care what the critics thought, knowing he had a winning spectacle to spotlight. He was right and would put on the first six-day race in history, billed as “the greatest competitive trial of endurance ever attempted.”

Help is needed to support the Ultrarunning History Podcast, website, and Hall of Fame. Please consider becoming a patron of ultrarunning history. Help to preserve this history by signing up to contribute a few dollars each month through Patreon. Visit https://ultrarunninghistory.com/member

Don Choi inducted into the Hall of Fame

Don Choi
Don Choi, age 73, a long-time postman from San Francisco, has been inducted into The American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame as its 20th member. Don is recognized as being “the father of the modern multi-day race.” He made a significant historic contribution to the sport of ultrarunning by bringing back the multi-day races after an absence of 75 years. He organized the first modern six-day race in 1980 at Woodside, California. As a pioneer ultrarunner, he set nearly all the initial modern-day ultra records over 100 miles and won more than 30 early American ultras. In 1984, he was the first American to surpass 500 miles in six days, since 1903. During the 1980s he participated in 21 six-day races, more than anyone in the world, and won nine of them. 

94: Six-Day Race Part 3: P.T. Barnum – Ultrarunning Promoter (1874)

By Davy Crockett

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The ultimate showman, P.T. Barnum of circus fame, was surprisingly the first serious ultrarunning promoter and established the first six-day race in America. He was famous for the saying “There’s a sucker is born every minute,” and figured out how to get America to come out by the thousands to watch skinny guys walk, run and suffer around a small indoor track for hours and days as part of his “Greatest Show on Earth” presented in the heart of New York City. In this episode, details of Barnum’s connection to ultrarunning history are told for the first time.

In part one of this six-day series, Foster Powell started it all in 1773 in England, seeking to reach 400 miles in less than six days. In part two, nearly a century later, the challenge was restored in America with the famous walker Edward Payson Weston, who was both cheered and ridiculed. As this third part opens, Weston seeks more than anything to reach 500 miles in six days, which had never been accomplished before. He had failed in his first serious attempt, reaching “only” 430 miles and was called by some, “The Great American Fizzler.” P.T. Barnum soon enters the story to lend support.

Help is needed to continue the Ultrarunning History Podcast, website, and Hall of Fame. Please consider becoming a patron of ultrarunning history. Help to preserve this history by signing up to contribute a few dollars each month through Patreon. Visit https://ultrarunninghistory.com/member