Ultrarunning History

145: The Lake Waramaug 100K

November 12, 2023

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:52 — 30.5MB)

By Davy Crockett

The first certified 100 km race in America was held at Lake Waramaug, Connecticut, in 1974. Today it remains as the oldest 100 km race in the country and the second oldest American ultra still held. For many years in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, it was the unofficial national championship for the 100 km distance and the best ultrarunners in the U.S. made their pilgrimage to Lake Waramaug to test their abilities on the 7.59-mile paved road loop around the lake.

Before 1974, the 50-mile or 100-mile distances had been the America’s “standard” ultra distances. But most of the ultras held during the 1970s were of odd lengths. There were a few road 50 kms, such as those put on by the AAU in Sacramento. But in the New York City area, the hotspot for ultramarathons put on by Ted Corbitt (1919-2007), of the New York Road Runners, had a large variety of ultra distances during the 1960s and early 1970s. San Francisco had been the scene of multiple 32 milers. Racing around Lake Tahoe for 72 miles would become popular starting in 1975. No one had yet thought to put on a race that was exactly 100 km.

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The Passing of Roger Welch

November 6, 2023

Roger C. Welch (1942-2023), an elite ultrarunner from the 1970s, from Duxbury, Massachusetts, passed away on September 17, 2023, at the age of 81. He was a founding member of the Marshfield Road Runners in the early 1970s.

Roger ran mostly marathons throughout his running career, but in 1976-1978 he won the New England 50-mile championship each year in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1978, at the age of 35, he went to run at Lake Waramaug, in Connecticut. He was an unknown and competed against many of the top ultrarunners in America. He reached the 50-mile mark in 5:51 and went to run the full 100 km and surprised everyone by winning in 7:25, ten minutes ahead of Park Barner.

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144: Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim History – Part 13: More for 1990-2020

October 29, 2023

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:55 — 29.8MB)

By Davy Crockett

This part will cover additional stories found through deeper research, adding to the history shared in found in the new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History. Grand Canyon rim to rim hikes and runs become very popular as thousands descend into the Canyon each year. Fastest known times for R2R and R2R2R runs are broken.

In 1991, Jerry Chavez, a Vietnam veteran of Leadville, Colorado, worked for the NPS. He operated the pump station at Indian Garden, which pumped water up to the South Rim. He lived year-round at a nice residence down at Indian Garden. Chavez was also a member of the park’s 20-member rescue team and kept in shape by running rim-to-rim.

Chavez said that the “dumbest thing” he saw was people hiking without food or water. “Chavez had seen a lot of weird things in the Canyon, including a guy hiking in a dusty tuxedo and women in high-heel shoes.” Often, he would rescue hikers suffering from heatstroke. One recent case was particularly bad. He remembered, “When I saw that man, he looked like death. We had to carry him up a mile. His temperature was 109. We were running water from a creek and kept pouring it on him. When they flew him to Flagstaff, he still had a temperature of 105. The doctor called and said whoever worked on him saved his life. The guy walked out of the hospital as normal as can be.” Chavez was awarded a National Park Service achievement award.

Out-of-shape parents were often seen bringing down small children. On a winter day in 1989, Chavez was out for a run and found parents with two small children and heavy packs. “The kids were lying in the snow and crying. I told them, ‘You’re going to have to carry those kids out.’” He offered to help, but the father refused and yelled at the kids about 2-3 years old. Finally, Chavez got permission to rescue the kids and carry them out.

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143: Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim History – Part 12: More for 1971-1989

October 9, 2023

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:18 — 30.0MB)

By Davy Crockett

This part will cover additional stories found through deeper research, adding to the history shared in found in the new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History.

Overcrowding Concerns

In 1971, because of overcrowding in the inner Canyon, the Park Service started to implement a reservation system for camping. They shared a situation on the Easter weekend when 800 people tried to camp at Phantom Ranch, which only handled 75. Park Superintendent Robert Lovegren (1926-2010), said, “We readily accept quotas on tickets to a theater or sports event. If the performance is sold out, we wait for the next one or the next season. We don’t insist on crowding in to sit on someone’s lap.” Reservations requests were made by mail. In the first month of the system, 1,463 people wanted to reserve 100 camping spots for Easter weekend. They used a lottery system for that weekend.

Get Davy Crockett’s new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History. Read more than a century of the history of crossing the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim. 295 pages, 400+ photos. Paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and Audible.

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New Book! Running 100 Miles: Part Three – A History (1977-1979)

September 28, 2023

New Book! by Davy Crockett. Running 100 Miles: Part Three – A History (1977-1979) 233 pages, 300+ photos, hardback, paperback, or Kindle. Available on Amazon (click here)

The first two volumes of this 100-mile history covered nearly 250 years, during which more than 1,000 people walked or ran 100 miles within 24 hours. Thousands of others tried, and many reached that milestone in less than 30 hours.

Volume three covers only three years. Why? Starting in 1977, the 100-mile and 24-hour races received much more publicity and participation. Enthusiasm for the 100-mile distance exploded and the ultrarunning sport entered a new phase of its history. Many 100-mile races were being opened for anyone to try, and there were no lotteries yet. In 1977, there were at least eight 100-mile races, and ten 24-hour races held across the world.

1977 was the year when the Western States 100 was established in the California Sierra mountains, with a rather unorganized inaugural race. It brought to light many lessons learned for both organizers and participants. In 1979, the Old Dominion 100 was created, patterning many of its mountain trail 100 practices after those that were being implemented at the Western States 100.

Other 100-mile races started to be held. 1978 saw the establishment of the Unisphere 100 at Flushing Meadows in New York City and the Fort Meade 100 started in Maryland. In England, the LDWA trail 100 challenges continued to be held each year since 1973. 100-mile walking races were held both in America and England.

In the late 1970s, Hawaii had the most runners per capita than any other state. Some called it the “running capital of the world.” Hawaii was also an early adopter of ultra distance races. In 1978, they introduced a 100-mile race, adding it to their already massive ultras of other distances.

The races would be nothing without the runners and their stories. This volume will include spotlights on the amazing 100-miler runners during the late 1970s, including Don Ritchie, Park Barner, Ted Corbitt, Marcy Schwam, Frank Bozanich, Don Choi, Andy Gonzales, Max Telford, Ruth Anderson, Ed Dodd, Tom Osler, Nick Marshall, Skip Swannack, Alan Price, Pat Smythe, Bill Lawder, Rich Innamorato, Ray Krolewicz, John Cappis, Mike Catlin, Gordy Ainsleigh, Cowman Shirk, Jim Shapiro, Jack Bristol, Lion Caldwell, Stu Mittleman, Frank MacMillan, Brent Weigner, Don Marvel, Paul Ryan, John Kenul, along with many unheralded, nearly forgotten runners, who courageously toed the start lines and finished the races.

This is the sixth book in the Ultrarunning History series. Others include: Running 100 Miles: Part 1: A History (1729-1960), Running 100 Miles: Part 2: A History (1961-1976), Strange Running Tales: When Ultrarunning was a Reality Show, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History, Frank Hart: First Black Ultrarunning Star

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142: Encore – Spartathlon: The First Race in 1983

September 26, 2023

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:35 — 34.3MB)

By Davy Crockett

This is an encore episode. Spartathlon, an ultra of 246 km (153 miles), takes place each September in Greece, running from Athens to Sparta and with its 36-hour cutoff. It is one of the toughest ultramarathons to finish.

In Part 1 of this series, episode 88, the story was told how Spartathlon was born in 1982, the brainchild of an officer in the Royal Air Force, John Foden. Three servicemen successfully covered a route that was believed to have been taken in 490 B.C., by the Greek messenger, Pheidippides. The 1982 trial run set the stage for the establishment of the Spartathlon race. The race’s 1983 inaugural year is covered in this part won by Yiannis Kouros of Greece.

Read the rest of this episode here.

Help is needed to continue the Ultrarunning History Podcast and website. 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

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141: Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim History – Part 11: More for 1950-1964

September 10, 2023

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:07 — 28.4MB)

By Davy Crockett. Read, listen, or watch

This part will cover additional stories found through deeper research, adding to the history shared in found in the new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History.

Rim To Rim in the 1950s

In 1950, two 15-year-old boys from Los Angeles discovered that hiking rim-to-rim was a lot harder than they thought. While resting down at Phantom Ranch, they ran up an $8 unpaid bill and then decided that there was no way that they were going to hike back up.

“So, the two youths ‘borrowed’ a pair of mules at the ranch and rode to the top, tethering the mules at the head of Bright Angel Trail. The boys next headed south, stopping en-route to Williams, Arizona, at a service station where they pilfered $20 from the station’s cash drawer.” Their trip ended there after some officers arrested them.

Get Davy Crockett’s new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History. Read more than a century of the history of crossing the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim. 290 pages, 400+ photos. Paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and Audible.

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140: Davy Crockett – Ultrarunning History Podcast Host

August 28, 2023

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:41 — 31.1MB)

Recently I went on the “Ultra Running Guys Podcast” with Jeremy Reynolds and Jeff Winchester. This will be a slimmed-down version of their interview with me. Their excellent podcast has also been doing a series interviewing race directors of some of the classic ultras.

The Ultra Running Guys said, “Not only was Davy Crockett the 15th person to complete 100-hundred-mile races, but as the Director of the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame, and the host of the Ultrarunning History Podcast. He has contributed more to the world of Ultra than just about anybody we know. Take us on your long run to hear about his personal running history, and what inspired him to write his newest book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History.”

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