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By Davy Crockett
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Frank Hart’s life in 1883 was at a low point. He had squandered his riches and damaged his reputation as a professional pedestrian. He was viewed as being hot-headed, undisciplined, and a womanizer. His wife and children were no longer being mentioned as being a part of his life and by then were likely gone. Many people had tried to help him, even his original mentor, Daniel O’Leary, who called him “ungrateful.” Trainers did not last long working with him. Hart was no longer referred to by the flattering title of “Black Dan.” Certainly, some of the criticism against him was because of racial stereotypes, which he fought hard against. He wanted to regain the glory and fame he had felt in previous years.
Tales include fistfights on the track, strange hallucinations experienced while trying to run for six straight days, love scandals, corruption and bribery that crept into the sport, sickness, death, and even murder.
Thomas Joseph Osler (1940-2023) of Camden, New Jersey, was a mathematician, former national champion distance runner, and author. His published running training theories have made a deep impact on distance running for multiple generations. His book, Serious Runner’s Handbook became a classic book on running. He was the first to verbalize in a way that was really understandable to most athletes. Runner’s World wrote, “Tom Osler was among those who helped push and pull America toward the running mania of the 1970s.”
Thomas Joseph Osler (1940-2023) of Camden, New Jersey, passed away on March 26, 2023. He was a mathematician, former national champion distance runner, and author. He published his training theories in his 1967 booklet for the ages, The Conditioning of Distance Runners. His pioneer 1976 24-hour run in New Jersey, brought renewed focus on the 24-hour run in America. In 1979, together with Ed Dodd, he co-authored Ultra-Marathoning: The Next Challenge. He is a member of the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame.
This is an encore episode. The 2023 Barkley Marathons is underway. The Barkley Marathons, with its historic low finish rate (only 15 runners in 30 years), is perhaps the most difficult ultramarathon trail race in the world. It is held in and near Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee, with a distance of more than 100 miles.
The inspiration for creating the Barkley in 1986 was the 1977 prison escape by James Earl Ray from Brushy Mountain State Prison. Ray was the convicted assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. He spent more than two days trying to get away in the very rugged Cumberland Mountains where the Barkley later was established. Ray’s escape has been a subject of folklore.
In 1880, Frank Hart, age 23, was recognized as one of the top ultrarunners/pedestrians in the world. But after a life-threatening illness, many speculated that he would never return to his dominant form. He had also gone through a life-changing transition by accumulating more wealth in one year than most men acquired in a lifetime, and he was freely spending his fortune. Make sure you read/listen/watch parts 