Ultrarunning History

28: Western States 100 – Legends, Myths, and Folklore

June 20, 2019

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By Davy Crockett

Dick Mendenhall runs in the 1977 Western States 100

The establishment of the Western States Endurance Run (Western States 100) in 1977 was one of the most important pivotal events in the history of ultrarunning. During the next decade, the existing ultrarunning sport experienced a major shift from roads and tracks to trails and mountains. Other 100-mile races were spawned from the Western States 100, patterning their mountain race formats and practices after those established by Western States. A new generation of ultrarunners came into the sport and the Western States Endurance Run became the most famous mountain trail 100-miler.

Western States validly proclaims that it owns 100-mile racing’s richest and most compelling history. “Western States has been home to some of the sport’s most stirring and legendary competitions and has spurred the capacity of spirit of all runners, of all abilities and from all walks of life, from all over the globe. Western States remains one of the undisputed crown jewels of human endurance.”

With such a rich and long history that has been told and retold over the years, it is not surprising that folklore has crept in, and historic errors introduced by mistake or on purpose, making the legend of Western States and its origin story even more compelling. With the establishment of the Internet and social media, much like the “telephone game” myths have been told and retold.

My new book: Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History

The Western States Endurance Run grew out of the Western States Endurance Ride in the Sierras, in California. That equestrian event also has quite a bit of folklore attached to it. But this fact is clear, there would not have been a Run if the Ride had not existed. The riders who were organizers of the run had the experience and wisdom to establish the Western State Endurance Run.

I thought it would be interesting and helpful to look at many of these myths and some clarifying truths about the origin story of both the Western States Trail Ride and Western States Endurance Run. Major events like these, at times approach “mythical” status and place too much credit on certain individuals, pushing aside heritage and others who paved the way for these historical events to take place. The intent of this episode it to have some fun looking at the facts and get the reader to think about history.

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27: Yiannis Kouros – Greek Greatness

June 9, 2019

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By Davy Crockett

Get the new book that tells the story of Spartathlon and Kouros’ famed 1983 run there

Yiannis Kouros from Greece is considered by most, as the greatest ultrarunner of all time. That is a bold statement, but there are few that dispute this statement. The late “Stubborn Scotsman,” Don Ritchie, is certainly in the conversation, Some can try arguing for certain mountain trail ultrarunners, but what Kouros accomplished, dominating for more than a 20-year period, and setting world records that have lasted for decades is nothing but mind-boggling. Every ultrarunner needs to know about Yiannis Kouros and his accomplishments. One of his competitors, Trishal Cherns of Canada, said, “There’s the elite, the world class, then there’s Yiannis.”

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26: Edward Payson Weston’s 1909 Walk Across America

May 29, 2019

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:27 — 35.8MB)

By Davy Crockett

Both a podcast episode and a full article

In previous articles, stories were shared about various walks across America in the 1800s. In 1909 Edward Payson Weston, the most famous American Pedestrian of the 1800’s made his transcontinental walking attempt in the twilight of his walking career, at the age of 70. His amazing walk captured the attention of the entire country and was the most famous transcontinental walk across America in history.

Edward Payson Weston (1839-1929) was born in Providence, Rhode Island on March 15, 1839. He was not particularly strong as a boy and took up walking to improve his health with exercise. When he was 22, on a bet, he walked from Boston to Washington to witness the inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln, covering 453 miles in about 208 hours. In 1867, he walked from Portland, Maine to Chicago, about 1,200 miles, in about 26 days. That walk brought him worldwide fame.

Over the next few decades, he was a professional walker and took part in many indoor multiday races. He gained more fame when he went and competed in England in 1876. Later in life, Weston gained intense attention in America in 1907 when at the age of 68, he again walked from Maine to Chicago and beat his 1867 time by more than a day.

Since 1869 Weston expressed a desire to walk across America. Many had claimed that they accomplished it. Finally, in 1909 he decided he would make his attempt starting on his 70th birthday.

Here is the story of his famous 1909 transcontinental walk.

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25: The Wheelbarrow Man – Lyman Potter

May 17, 2019

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By Davy Crockett

Both a podcast episode and a full article

In recent years, some of the ultrarunners who have run across America performed it by pushing baby joggers to carry their stuff in a self-supported mode. Once when Phil Rosenstein was pushing his jogger during his transcontinental run, an alarmed passing motorist called the police, and reported that a crazy person was pushing his baby along a busy highway in a baby carriage. In the general public’s mind, it is just too crazy to imagine someone running across the country pulling or pushing a contraption.

What about pushing a one-wheeled, wooden wheelbarrow across the country? That is exactly what Lyman Potter of Albany, New York did in 1878. He was one of the earliest known ultrawalkers to legitimately walk across America. He became known as “The Wheelbarrow Man.” The country was fascinated by him, but behind his back, he was called by many an idiot, a lunatic, and a fool. Why would anyone want to push a wheelbarrow across America, especially across the West when there were just rough wagon roads and a few railroads?

This is the story of “The Wheelbarrow Man” who would eventually be called “the hero of the greatest feat of pedestrianism.”

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24: Zoe Gayton – Woman Transcontinental Walker

May 10, 2019

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By Davy Crockett

Both a podcast episode and a full article

On May 10, 2019, America will celebrated the 150^th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad. This is the third article in a series to recognize some historic accomplishments walking or running across the American continent. In the previous articles, the history was given of the 1855 walk across South America by Nathaniel Holmes Bishop, and the story of Dakota Bob was shared as an a example of the many fraudulent characters who would claim to walk across America.

Women got into the game too! The most famous of the transcontinental woman walkers of the late 1800s, and perhaps the first, was a Spanish-American world-famous actress, Zoe Gayton. The may have also been the first person to walk the history transcontinental railroad end-to-end. Here is her amazing story of her walk in 1890-91.

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23: Dakota Bob – Transcontinental Walker

May 2, 2019

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:39 — 35.7MB)

By Davy Crockett

Both a podcast episode and a full article

On May 10, 2019, America will celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad. This is the second article in a series to recognize some historic accomplishments walking or running across the American continent. In the previous article, the history was given of the 1855 walk across South America by Nathaniel Holmes Bishop that inspired others to try transcontinental walks.

Starting around 1890, dozens of “pedestrians” attempted transcontinental walks and many claimed to have succeeded. In 1896 a Buffalo article commented, “No less that a score have passed through Buffalo within a year.”

But did these walkers really accomplish these journeys all the way on foot? Verification was impossible in those days, Walkers wanted to succeed at all costs and were motivated by large wagers and the potential for great fame. Even in more modern times there have been fraudulent attempts and claims. Some of these very early walks that received attention may have been legitimate, but with careful analysis of the evidence left behind, most of these early transcontinental walks were likely hoaxes. The Buffalo Enquirer further stated in 1896, “Dead broke pedestrians have lived off gullible hotel keepers and charitably-inclined residents of the various states through which they pass. The American people like to humbugged.”

It wasn’t until about 1909 that more of the press started to accept the fact that many of these walkers cheated. One reporter wrote, “Several alleged walks across the continent have been heralded from time to time, but their accuracy has been so vague as to be valueless for records of bona fide achievements.”

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22: 1855 Walk Across South America

April 21, 2019

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:39 — 33.8MB)

By Davy Crockett

Both a podcast episode and a full article

On May 10, 2019, America will celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, that was recognized with a “Golden Spike” ceremony at Promontory Point, Utah. For more than 150 years adventurers desired to travel across the American continent by various means: horse, wagon, train, automobile, and eventually on foot in one go. With this celebration coming up, it seemed appropriate to recognize some historic accomplishments walking or running across the American continent.

The most notable early walk across America was accomplished by the famous Pedestrian Edward Payson Weston in 1909. Weston accomplished the transcontinental walk at the age of 71. That was just six years after the first two men drove an automobile across America from San Francisco to New York in 63 days. By the time Weston began his famed walk, the fastest known time driving across the continent had been lowered to 15 days, 2 hours, 10 minutes. A train had accomplished it in 71 hours 27 minutes. Weston would capture the attention of the country and the world when he accomplished it on foot in 1909. That story will be covered in an upcoming article.

However, Weston first got the idea in 1869 when a best-seller book was being read about a young man, who years before had walked across South America. Weston very likely got the idea to walk across North America from the adventure that took place in 1855. Few have heard this story. It needs to have a place in ultrarunning history because it inspired the Pedestrian world and planted in the minds of many to do cross continent walks and runs in the future.

Not only would runners run across America (3,100+ miles), but they would go across Australia (2,890), New Zealand (1,350 miles), Europe (1,729 miles), Canada (4,179 miles), Asia (5534 miles), the Soviet Union (7,321 miles), the length of Great Britain (840 miles), Ireland (375 miles), and South America (8,500 miles).

But it seemed to all start with a young seventeen-year-old American adventurer in 1855. Here is his story.

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21: Mote Bergman (1887-1978)

April 10, 2019

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:31 — 29.3MB)

By Davy Crockett

Both a podcast episode and a full article

After the golden age of Pedestrianism of the late 1800’s, a new breed of ultra-distance runners emerged in the early 1900s. Events were few. The world wars and the great depression all but snuffed out their efforts to continue to go the distance, to demonstrate what was possible. It became impossible to try to make a living with their legs. In America, only the most determined runner emerged out of the strife of the 1930s and 1940s to continue their craft into the post-war modern era of ultrarunning. One of these athletes was Alvin “Mote” Bergman.

In 1896 the first marathon was competed in the inaugural Olympic Games at Athens, Greece. The idea was quickly adopted elsewhere and the Boston Marathon soon was established. Other marathons followed and competing at that distance grew in attention. But there were only a small number of runners competing at longer distances such as 50 miles and 100 miles. The Trans-America races “Bunion Derbies” of 1928-29 did gather together talented runners, but soon America turned their attention to just surviving during the depression.

Without very many ultra-distance professional events to compete in, some of these early ultrarunners used their marketing creativity to transition to “solo artists.” Mote Bergman would eventually take this road in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area and would become known as “the wizard of the colossal art of walking,” and the “world champion birthday walker,” He was one of the very few American ultrarunners who kept up ultrarunning through the Great Depression, through the World War II years, and went on to span into the modern era. He was likely the first American to walk or run a sub-24-hour 100-miler in the post-war modern era of ultrarunning.

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