The term “ultramarathon” was used as early as 1959, credited to Ted Corbitt. It started to be used more widely in 1977 after ultrarunning historian Jim Shapiro published a fascinating article that was reprinted in hundreds of newspapers across the country.
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The original walkathons were not the relatively tame fundraising walks of the 1970s for causes. Instead these walkathons were brutal endurance events that had their heyday in the mid-1930s. These walkathons were not ultrarunning events. They were rather twisted walking events, if it could even be called walking. They were mostly a crazy test of enduring sleep deprivation. But still, it is important to understand the history of these competitions, because they had a negative impact on true extreme endurance sports such as ultrarunning in the minds of Americans for future decades.
The Walkathon was believed to be invented in America, in 1913, at Terra Haute, Indiana. Achieving miles was not the objective. The goal for the walkathon was to survive for weeks and to be the last one standing.
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The fifty-mile race is a distance most of today’s ultrarunners eventually run. In 2017 there were about 300 50-mile races held in America with about 16,000 unique finishers. At nearly twice the distance of a marathon, it truly involves a different approach than running a marathon both mentally and physically. Ultrarunning legend, David Horton once wrote, “Most ultra-runners, me included, consider that real ultras are 50 miles or longer.” Since the 1960s, the shorter distances (50K, etc.) were typically used by aspiring ultrarunners to train for completing at the 50-mile distance.
When did the 50-mile race begin? Early classic American 50-milers include: the JFK 50 starting in 1963 in Maryland, the Metropolitan 50 starting in 1971 in Central Park, New York City, the Lake Waramaug 50 starting in 1974 in Connecticut, and the American River 50 started in 1980 in California. But just as 100-mile races in America did not originate with Western States in the 1970s, the 50-miler did not originate with the JFK 50 in 1963. In all began much earlier than that.
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By Davy Crockett
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As the Great Depression began raging across the world, race events for professional ultrarunners pretty much dried up in the United States. All professional sports suffered in America during that time. For a few years, promoters in Canada filled the void, and were able to attract some of the most talented American ultrarunners to head northward, to run in their races.
One such race was the 1930 Peter Dawson Relay held in the province of Quebec. This was one of those forgotten races that deserves a place in the history of ultrarunning. Both New York and Boston bid for the race but it was awarded to Quebec. It included many of the greatest American ultrarunners of that time. Most of them have been totally forgotten and all have now passed away, but some of them lived into the 1980s and 1990s.
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By Davy Crockett
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For the common man, we frequently make history without knowing it at the time. As years pass, one can look back and discover that certain events, which at the time seemed insignificant, actually played an important part in history. Such events weren’t forgotten or pushed aside; their stories just had not been told. Such is the case with “The Last Day Run.”
Ultrarunning existed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The participants were mostly professionals who performed for spectators. As the Great Depression hit, events for professional ultrarunners dwindled and dried up in America. But rising from the tragedy and ashes of World War II, ultrarunning events slowing appeared again, but this time for amateurs looking to test their endurance. They were first hiking events such as the Padre Island Walkathon (110 miles) of the 1950s in Texas, and the JFK 50 starting in 1963 in Maryland. But soon running events surfaced and the term “ultramarathon” was first used around 1964.
Absent in the pages of very early American ultrarunning history is the story of the “Last Day Run.”
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By Davy Crockett
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(Listen to the podcast episode which includes the bonus story about my love for the Grand Canyon, and the 1,000 miles I’ve run down in it.)
Crossing the Grand Canyon on foot is something many visitors of the spectacular Canyon wonder about as they gaze across its great expanse to the distant rim. Crossing the Canyon and returning back is an activity that has taken place for more than 125 years. Each year thousands of people cross the famous canyon and many of them, return the same day, experiencing what has been called for decades as a “double crossing,” and in more recent years, a “rim-to-rim-to-rim.”
In 1891, crossings of the Grand Canyon using rough trails on both sides of the Colorado River, in the “corridor” area, were mostly accomplished by miners and hunters. Double crossing hikes, in less than 24 hours started as early as 1949. More were accomplished in the 1960s and they started to become popular in the mid-1970s. Formal races, for both single and double crossings, while banned today, are part of ultrarunning history. This article tells the story of many of these early crossings and includes the creation of the trails, bridges, Phantom Ranch, and the water pipeline
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By Davy Crockett
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Prior to the 1960s, most of the ultrarunners participating in ultradistance races were professionals. It was a spectator sport. The general public never had serious thoughts that they too could run ultradistances.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy unintentionally played a key role that provided the spark to ignite interest for ultrarunning in America and elsewhere. The door was flung open for all who wanted to challenge themselves. An unexpected 50-mile frenzy swept across the U.S. like a raging fire that dominated the newspapers for weeks. Tens of thousands of people attempted to hike 50 miles, both the old and the very young. Virtually unnoticed was a small club event run/hiked by high school boys in Maryland that eventually became America’s oldest ultra, the JFK 50.
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By Davy Crockett
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Paul “Hardrock” Simpson, of Burlington, North Carolina, was an elite colorful, professional ultrarunner of the late 1920s who worked to continue in the sport during the Great Depression. He was one of the very few talented ultradistance runners who bridged to the post-war modern era of ultrarunning in the 1950s. With creativity, charisma, and strong performances, he successfully captured the imagination of the nation during both the periods. During that time, he was recognized as one of the greatest long-distance runners in America.
Paul Simpson was born in 1904. When he was a child on the family farm, he had to do the shopping. The nearest store was two miles away. Instead of walking, he ran the four miles to and from the store. He said, “I couldn’t see the point in wasting time walking the distance so I just dug my toes into the hot sand and ran the entire distance.” He began running regularly at age fifteen and won a mile race in high school.
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Read the article here.