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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.”

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By Davy Crockett 

In the early 1970s, several highly competitive 100-mile races had been held in England, but they were still primarily organized for attempts to break British or world records. In 1975 another classic race was held, perhaps one of the greatest and most competitive 100-mile race ever held. It left one reporter speechless, witnessing something that he would never forget, watching some of the fastest 100-mile runners ever, and experiencing the sportsmanship of ultrarunning for the first time. This story must be retold.

In America, 100-mile races were being held, open to anyone who wanted to give it a try, even the naïve. In 1975, the annual Camellia 100 held in the Sacramento, California area was held for the fifth year.

But the oldest annual American 100-miler that tends to be forgotten, was the Columbia 100 Mile Walk held in Columbia, Missouri. In 1975 It was held for the ninth year. There had been 23 sub-24-hour 100-miler finishes in its history. But this was nothing compared to Great Britain. There, 100-mile walking races had been held annually since 1946, for 30 years, with more than 450 finishes in less than 24 hours.

Elsewhere, the Durban 100 held every-other year in South Africa, had been competed six times, with at least 33 finishers (only partial results have been preserved). In Italy, 24-hour races had been held every year since 1970 with 100-mile finishers. In 1975, a 24-hour race with many 100-mile finishers was competed inside the Soviet controlled iron curtain, in Czechoslovakia.

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By Davy Crockett 

Several 100-mile races and solo runs were held in 1974 across the globe that year, but the most significant run, which mostly went unnoticed at the time, was performed by Gordy Ainsleigh in the rugged, hot mountains in California. You were probably told he was the first, but he was actually the 8^th to cover that trail on foot during the Tevis Cup horse ride and the sport of trail ultrarunning was not invented that year.

Previous to 1974, more than 1,000 sub-24-hour 100-mile runs had been accomplished on roads, tracks, and trails. Thus, Ainsleigh’s run did not get much attention until several years later, when with some genius marketing, it became an icon for running 100 miles in the mountains, the symbol for Western States 100, founded in 1977. Using this icon, they inspired hundreds to also try running 100 miles in the mountains on trails.

Also hidden in the annals of the Western States Endurance Run history, is a forgotten story of 53 individuals, men and women, who covered the Western States Trail on foot in 1974, just one week after Ainsleigh made his famous run. This was another story that was well-known at the time but wasn’t mentioned in the Western States origin story. Perhaps, it isn’t significant, but it is interesting and will be shared.

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By Davy Crockett 

As the 1970s began, for the first time in decades, daring pioneer long-distance women athletes again joined in the 100-mile quest, with some opposition because of the lack of public acceptance for women to compete in long distances.

By 1970, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was governing American amateur running and working to prepare athletes for the Olympics. The AAU received growing criticism regarding its governance, arbitrary rules, locking out some runners, and banning women from competitions. But some races started to ignore the AAU rules and allow women to run. Most ultramarathons let them run, at least unofficially. It took a special breed of runner to push through the strong cultural gender bias to break into the male-dominated sport of distance running during the early 1970s.

As the 1970s began, 100-mile races continued in South Africa and England. They began to expand in other areas of the world including the United States, Australia, and Italy. World records continued to be lowered.