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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.
The Great Tarahumara 100 km of 1926
We must give credit to Mexico and the Tarahumara for the earliest known running race that was strictly 100 km long. With the Central American Games coming to Mexico in 1926, Jesus Antonio Almeida (1885-1957), the governor of the State of Chihuahua, and the President of Mexico, Plutarco Elias Calles (1877-1945) wanted to showcase the newly discovered Tarahumara distance running talent on this world stage. They arranged for an exhibition 100 km race to be held.
It was called La carrera Tarahumara, or the “Great Tarahumaran Race,” and was held five days after the games. It was hoped with the attention to this race, that the 100 km would be adopted by the upcoming Olympic Games. “They dreamed that their Tarahumaran countrymen would win honor for Mexico by thrilling the world at Amsterdam in 1928.” With Mexican victories, they hoped that it would help drive away racial lies about the Mexican people.
The 100 km race was held on a highway from the silver mining center Pachuca to the stadium in Mexico City. Tarahumaras, Tomas Zafiro ran along with Leoncio San Miguel. A third Tarahumara, Virgillo Espinoza, also competed but did not finish. The race began in the dark at 3:05 a.m. The people in the villages along the highway to Mexico City lined the road to cheer them on to the city. They shot off firecrackers, cheered, and some joined in to run with them for short distances. Church bells tolled, bringing out more spectators.
Zafiro and San Miguel entered the stadium packed with thousands of spectators at about 12:35 p.m. and ran three laps around the track, finishing tied for the win of 9:37. College athletes at the games were astonished. Zafiro and San Miguel became national heroes.
100 km Races Begin in Europe
100 km races began to be held in Europe as early as 1959 with the Lauf Biel 100K that was competed on a long road loop in Biel, Switzerland. Most of these European 100 km events started as hikes but opened up to runners. In 1974, nearly 2,500 runners and walkers finished the very popular European race. At least 14 100 km races were held that year in Europe. The fastest recorded 100 km times were usually split times accomplished by runners trying to achieve longer distances, such as 100 miles. In 1974, before America had a 100 km race, the world record of 6:42:53, was held by Ensio Tanninen (1936-) of Finland, who set that mark on an uncertified road course in 1972 at Järvenpää, Finland. The record on a certified track was 7:26:14, set by George Perdon (1924-1993) of Australia, in 1970, at Olympic Park in Melbourne, Australia.
America Was Slow to Adopt the 100 km Ultra
America, of course, was not on the metric system, although there was increased discussion in the 1970s to start using it. As far as ultras go, historian Andy Milroy explained, “100 kilometers offered a nice step up from 50 miles, without being too scary an idea for people to contemplate. There was no widespread shared experience in going beyond 50 miles, so the idea of tackling 100 miles was more intimidating back then. People came from a background in road racing, and that tended to mean athletes of the day took a sterner approach to ultras than is now the case. It was unheard of for a runner to contemplate planned walking during a race. Thus, 100 kilometers was a good compromise in the quest upward. It seemed like a logical successor to supplant the 50 miles as the most popular ultra. The 100km looked like the wave of the future, as far as favoured ultradistances went. Progressive thinkers felt it was only a matter of time before the metric system swept the English measurements of inches, yards, and miles into obscurity.”
Lake Waramaug
Lake Waramaug in western Connecticut, is a 680-acre lake that was named after Chief Waramaug who wintered in the area during the early 1700s. Over the decades, it remained a secluded spot with slow development because it was relatively out of the way and far from larger towns and cities. Cottages were built around it as summer residences.
The lake was described in 1860 as a quiet place that only had one road coming to the west side of the lake. The roads around the lake were first created and improved during the 1860s. A small hotel was operated there. “Lake Waramaug is a beautiful sheet of deep, clear water. Its length is nearly five miles and in form it is like the letter ‘S.’ For beauty of situation, it is unparalleled. On every side, high mountains meet the vision. Many of those who entertain summer boarders are wealthy farmers.”
On August 1, 1879, John R. Wood, an amateur athlete from New York, became the first known person to run around Lake Waramaug, which at that time was thought to be ten to twelve miles. He finished in 1:41:00.
Steamboats operated for decades, giving rides day and night around the lake starting in 1874. Fishing on the lake was one of the main attractions for visiting. The lake was stocked with bass, trout, and even salmon. The small village of New Preston sat a half mile from the south end of the lake. It contained 200 residents, a store, a blacksmith shop, a grist mill, a school and a church.
Ice skating on the lake was an attraction during the winter. However, tragedy would strike. In 1880, a group of students from a nearby seminary were skating 200 yards from shore. A student broke through the ice and the adults made a successful effort to rescue him, eventually. But one rescuer, Moses W. Smith, also broke through the ice. “Every effort was made to rescue him. Oars were flung to Smith, but he was so excited or frightened that he had not presence of mind enough to grasp the but kept thrashing the water till exhausted and then sank and drowned.”
Ice companies would come to the lake during the winter to cut out ice blocks that were shipped as far as 40 miles away to be used for refrigeration. Twenty men would work for three days harvesting 1,100 tons of ice. When the lake froze very solid in 1896, a horse race was conducted on the ice with five tracks across the lake. Sleigh rides were also popular when the
ice was free of snow. “It was interesting to see a horse and carriage going down the middle of the lake along a path plainly visible.” Large crowds would come from surrounding towns each winter when the races were held. In the summer, sailing races could be seen on the lake.
In November each year, the resort community shut down almost entirely. “Lake Waramaug has now a deserted appearance on account of the closed cottages and hotels about its border. This dreary season will come, especially when any locality is used as a summer resort almost entirely.”
Tragedy and deaths occurred at the lake. In 1901, two waitresses from New York City, working at the hotel, went missing. Their shoes and towels were found on the lake shore, and they both went into the water and somehow drowned. Their bodies were found in 18 feet of water, five feet from each other. That same week, during a picnic party of young people, Sheldon Edwards, age 23, was seized with cramps while in the water and drown before help could reach him. Drowning in the lake occurred nearly every year, most often when boats were overturned and people without life preservers couldn’t swim to safety.
Automobiles arrived during the early 1900s. In 1904, a chase took place around that lake as a constable chased Solomon Christy Mead (1868-1953) and his brother who sped around the lake, a distance of eight miles in 18 minutes and the second time in 21 minutes. A warrant for the arrest of Mead was issued for going 25-miles per hour. “The Constables’ pockets were bulging with revolvers and handcuffs, but he found the young man passive and ready to appear in court. Mr. Mead is the first one to be arrested for speeding an auto.” By 1908, New Preston was filled with autos that were making their way to and from Lake Waramaug. Serious fatal accidents occurred lakeside, as horses were frightened by autos on the shared road around the lake.
Pleasure rides and a slower speed around the lake became popular in the coming decades. “A trip around Lake Waramaug is over dirt road, but on a dry day is well worth making the run around the lake in order to view the camps of summer residents.”
In 1920, ninety-five acres on Lake Waramaug were purchased for a Stake Park, including a half mile of frontage on the lake. Soon, large annual gatherings and picnics were held at the park.
In 1934, Judge Robert Victor Kinkead (1892-1975) and his wife, Annette R. (Seridan) Kinkead (1896-1984) from Jersey City, New Jersey, went out on the lake in a canoe. It capsized. They hung onto the side of the craft and were rescued. But Mrs. Kinkead lost a pocketbook with $4,000 of heirloom jewels that sunk to the bottom of the lake. The judge hired a professional diver that found the treasure after searching for two days, 25 feet below.
Over the years, cottages and hotels around the lake aged, and some burned down. In 1934, the 100-room 58-year-old Chalyn Lodge burned, causing employees to exit through windows to find safety and 16 guests to flee. Pumps were used to fight the blaze, bringing water from the lake until they failed. The loss was estimated at $20,000.
Into the 1960s and 1970s, activities increased at the lake. Competitions involved waterskiing, boat regattas, and fishing derbies, including ice fishing. In 1972, Lake Waramaug was the site for the Olympic Trials for rowing.
Runners Spotlight – Jack Bristol
Clayton “Jack” Bristol (1949-1991) was an electromechanical technician from Marble Dale, Connecticut. In high school, he ran for the Bethel High cross-country team in the 1960s, where his team won the state championship in 1967. He also ran track, and his teams also were state champions. In those days, training was typically no further than three miles, but Jack and his high school classmate Dean Perry (1950-) would go off on weekends and run 20 miles. In those days, few in high school would run further than three miles, so the two were unique. Perry said, “We had a little joke between us that we were on the cutting edge of reality.”
In the 1970s, Bristol founded the Bethel Bananas Running Club. The logo on club running shirts read, “Boogie till ya Puke.” About Bristol, it was said, “Jack ran anything. It didn’t matter the distance, the type of terrain, or how many people were in the race. He always gave it his all. One mile, 100 miles, what’s a few miles among friends?”
Bristol started running ultras in 1971, competing in the National AAU 50 Mile Championship in Rocklin, California. He placed 9th with 6:39:50. He ran again in 1972, placing 5th with 6:27:22.
One of Bristol’s early ultras was the Metropolitan 50 miler, held in Central Park, New York in 1973. He finished 7th, in 6:15:27. That year he also ran the Two Bridges run in Washington D.C. The race was 36 miles. It started at the Washington Monument and went to Mount Vernon and back. Forty-nine runners were in the field. Bristol placed third. He had quickly progressed to be one of the elites in American ultrarunning.
The Founding of Lake Waramaug 100 km
Dean Perry had stopped running when he was in college, but as the running boom started up, Bristol called him up and asked if he wanted to run again. Perry responded, and they started running again, further and further. They ran a 7.66-mile loop around Lake Waramaug, near New Preston, Connecticut, where Perry’s fiancé lived. The paved road around the lake was mostly flat with a few gentle slopes and had very little traffic, perfect for fast running.
They started considering organizing a race there and contacted the owners of the Inn on Lake Waramaug, Richard Bonynge Combs (1922-1984) and Barbara “Bobbi” (Clark) Combs (1925-1998). They loved the idea of hosting a race at their inn, which they had owned and operated since 1951. It was located on the upper end of the lake and was one of twelve inns on the lake. It had been constructed between 1795 and 1815 and had operated as an inn since 1860. “Set high on a hillside surrounded by magnificent sugar maples overlooking the second largest lake in Connecticut, its location sets it off as one of the finer and most beautiful dining locales in New England.”
In May 1974, an unusual announcement came about an event to be held at Lake Waramaug. “The first 100-kilometer race ever run in the United States will be held Saturday, May 11, at Lake Waramaug. The race is sanctioned by the AAU and sponsored by the Bethel Bananas Track Club and the Inn on Lake Waramaug.” Perry took on the role of race director.
The 1974 Lake Waramaug 50-miler and 100 km
The first Lake Waramaug race was held on May 11, 1974. It was 52 degrees at the start and reached 70 degrees during the race. The course was held on a 7.66-mile pave-road loop circling the lake. The road was mostly flat, with a few gentle slopes and had very little automobile traffic. It featured both a 50-mile race and a 100 km race. Once you reached 50 miles, you had the option of continuing to finish 100 kilometers. If you did that, you would get credit for finishing both ultras.
Twelve strong runners toed the starting line of this historic race. Bristol led the race at the marathon mark with a blistering time of 2:58. Park Barner (1944-) of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was about six minutes behind. Eight runners made it to the 50-mile mark. First was Barner in 5:55:30, second was Bristol in 6:06:23, and third was legendary Ted Corbitt (1919-2007), age 55, of New York City, in 6:11:27. The 50-miler required 6.5 loops and finished across the lake.
Only those three continued to complete the eight-loop 100 kilometers. The finish order was the same. Barner with 7:37:42, Bristol, with 7:47:15, and Corbitt in 7:52:37. Barner set the first recognized modern-American 100 km record, about 50 minutes off the world record at the time. (Americans had of course run the 100 km distance before. When Ted Corbitt ran the Walton-on-Thames 100 Miles Track race in England, in 1968, his 100 km split time was 8:19:32. Other Americans had also run in European 100Ks prior to this. For example, in 1973, Bruce Woodward an American stationed in Germany, was the top American finisher at Lauf Unna 100 km in Germany, with a time of 10:00:52.)
Corbitt said, “It was a great race. The course is beautiful, the traffic minimal. It is a moderately hard course, and I hope we can have the race every year.” He admitted that he was only in “fair condition,” and hoped to train harder for future races.
There were five others who made it to 50 miles during this inaugural year but did not continue. They were: Dean Perry (1950-), Lloyd Ryyslyainen (1949-2013), Phil Heath (1944-), Nathan Cirulnick (1930-2003) and Edwin Duncan.
Perry hoped with the success of the race that more ultramarathons would be established in Connecticut. About the experience of running 100 kilometers, he said, “You can’t beat the exercise.”
The Passing of The Torch
Historian Andy Milroy wrote, “This race marked the end of a proud era. People didn’t realize it at the time, but Waramaug in 1974 represented the true passing of a torch from one generation to the next. For Ted Corbitt, the most recognizable figure in American ultramarathoning since the 1950s, it was his last hurrah. Shortly thereafter, he was beset by nagging injuries. After two decades of elite performances, he was never again a competitive threat in these events, and soon had to give them up altogether.” He continued to run in ultras until 2003, but never again finished in the top-three.
For Barner, it was the third year of his dominating hall-of-fame ultra career. Just six months later, he won the second American 100 km held on the C&O Canal, starting in Washington D.C. on the flat dirt surface. His winning time was 7:52:43. Milroy compared Barner to Corbitt and wrote, “A lanky, unassuming, ‘aw, shucks’ type of guy became a friend and student of Corbitt’s. The two men were similar in character, being noted for their quiet and modest personalities. They were not without their quirks; Barner, for instance, would typically shun the fuss of holding centre stage at races, yet often ran them in unmatched, garishly fluorescent-coloured socks – one orange, one green. Physically, Barner lacked Corbitt’s speed, and was much more of a ‘pacer’ than ‘racer’ in his approach to competition.”
Reminiscing back on Lake Waramaug in 1974, Barner said, “We always enjoyed going up there and staying at the inn. I ran 135 miles the week before Waramaug, 30 one day, 31 one day and a couple of 20s. I just liked to run, and I didn’t get tired. Nobody ever heard of running like that back then.”
Lake Waramaug 1975-1977
Barner won the Lake Waramaug 100 km again in 1975 and 1976 in 7:23:28, and 7:15:14, lowering his American record each time and then lowered it again in 1977 to 7:11:44, at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania during snow squalls.
In 1977, the Lake Waramaug race doubled in size with 35 starters. In the field were the four fastest American 100 km runners, Barner, Bristol, Nick Marshall (1948-) of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, and Don Choi (1948-) of San Francisco, California. Choi blasted into the lead with a 6.5-minute gap on the rest of the front-runners at mile 20 and clearing the marathon mark in 2:53:48. Marshall recalled, “As Choi deteriorated, Marshall accelerated past him around 35 miles and went on to reach 50-miles in 5:42:31. Then he faded somewhat himself over the closing twelve miles.” Marshall, in his third year of running ultras, halted Barner’s win streak to three years, by pulling off the 100 km win in 17:17:06.
Lake Waramaug 1978
The 1978 Lake Waramaug race was referred to as “the top ultra contest in the northeast.” Fifty-six runners started. Several elite runners pressed hard, clocking sub-three-hour marathons. Frank Bozanich (1944-) tightened up but hung on from the 50-mile with in 5:14:36, which was less than two minutes off the American record. Roger Clark Welch (1942-2023) of Marshfield, Massachusetts, was the surprise winner of the 100 km in 7:25:37.
The first two women ran at Lake Waramaug in 1978, finishing the 50-miler. They were Connie Acton (1948-) from Connecticut and Sherry Horner (1955-) of Pennsylvania, with 8:05:23, and 8:41:23. Horner went on to beat the American 100 km record with a time of 10:55:33.
Howard Breinan, (1968-) age nine from Hebron, Connecticut, finished the 50-miler with his father in 8:58:28, making him the youngest finisher of an ultramarathon in 1978. (Breinan would continue to finish ultras into 2021.)
Runner Profile – Sue Ellen Trapp
Sue Ellen Trapp (1946-) was from Lehigh Acres, Florida. In 1971, at the age of 25, she was a new mom, was finishing dental school, and decided to take up running, along with her husband Ron Trapp, to get into shape for tennis, which she was highly competitive in. Her first race was Bay to Breakers 12K. She said, “I thought I’d just try it and it was awful.” But she continued and traveled with her husband to run various short races. She ran her first marathon in 1975 in 4:04 and then gained speed quickly. She won her first marathon later that year with 3:19 and continued to win and lowered her time to 3:04.
In December 1978, for her first ultra, Trapp won the Space Coast 50k in Melbourne, Florida. On January 27, 1979, she finished second at the RRCA National 100K Championships held at Miami, Florida. It was her first attempt to run 100 kilometers, and she finished in 9:12:38. She finished the 1979 Boston Marathon in 3:00:42.
Trapp set her sights to run at Lake Waramaug in 1979. She was training 120 miles per week, which left little time for anything else. She said, “My legs feel like jelly,” after finishing an 11-mile workout. “It’s incredible how time-consuming this becomes. It seems like all I’m doing is working and running. After Lake Waramaug, I can become a human being again.”
Lake Waramaug 1979
The 1979 Lake Waramaug 50 and 100, in its 6th year, grew to be a big-time ultra, with 120 starters. It attracted the greatest ultrarunners in the eastern United States. For many that year, including Ray Krolewicz, (1955-) of South Carolina, it was their first ultra attempted. At least six women started, including Sue Ellen Trapp. The entrance fee was $4, sent into Dean Perry.
The race started at a fantastic fast pace with Jack Bristol, Alan Kirik (1943-), and Martin “Marty” Kittell (1954-), of New York, running sub-six-minute-mile pace. Kittle and Kirik cruised through the marathon mark in 2:33:19 and continued an intense dual, “with them laughing as they each aggressively pushed the pace to try to lose the other.” Kittell finally cracked and Kirik broke the American 50-mile record by 12 minutes with 5:00:30 and then stopped.
Trapp, age 33, hit the marathon mark in 3:30 and the 50-mile mark in 6:55:30. She was one of the few that continued on to achieve 100 km. She broke the American record by 27 minutes in the 100 km, with 8:43:14, the second best in the world at that time. (Chista Vahlensieck, (1949-) of West Germany held the world record with 7:50:37, set in 1976 in Unna, Germany, on an uncertified road course). Roger Welch won for the second-straight year in 7:17:14.
Lake Waramaug Going Forward
Entering the 1980s, Lake Waramaug was the premier 100 km in America. Both the 50-miler and the 100 km were highly competitive, and Lake Waramaug was the site of many legendary performances and records for years to come. The 1980 race was battered by 60 mph wind gusts that caused several runners to actually hang on to the road guardrails to prevent them from being blown into traffic.
Ray Krolewicz became a fixture of the race, finishing the 100 km 27 times, with 11 wins. Barner finished the nine first Lake Waramaug 100 kms.
Richard Bonynge Combs, the owner of the Inn, died in 1984, at the age of 62 after operating the Inn on Lake Waramaug for 33 years. The new owner of the Inn had no interest to continue to host the race, so it was moved to start and finish at the state park. It was discovered that all the Lake Waramaug 50-milers prior to 1984 were nearly a half mile short because the shortest possible route had not been measured. Some previous records were lost.
In 1991, the ultrarunning community was shocked to learn of Jack Bristol’s, premature death at the age of 42. He had not been racing ultras for the past seven years. The Lake Waramaug race continued and was renamed to “Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug Ultra Races.” In 2023, it ran for the 46th year, the second oldest American ultra.
Sources:
- Davy Crockett, “The Tarahumara Ultrarunners” https://ultrarunninghistory.com/tarahumara/
- Andy Milroy, North American Ultrarunning: A History eBook
- Lori Riley, “Lake Waramaug Ultra has endured as race organizers work to keep it alive.” https://www.courant.com/2019/04/28/since-1974-lake-waramaug-ultra-has-endured-as-race-organizers-work-to-keep-it-alive/
- Nick Marshall, “Ultradistance Summary,” 1977, 1978, 1979
- Litchfield Enquirer (Connecticut), Aug 14, Oct 30, 1879, Dec 16, 1880
- The Day (New London, Connecticut), Feb 18, 1890, Aug 8, 1934
- The Newtown Bee (Connecticut), Jan 24, 1896, Feb 21, 1896, Jan 29, 1897, Sep 15, Nov 10, 1899, Jan 18, Jul 5, 1901, Aug 1, 1902, Aug 21, 1903, May 22, 1908
- The New York Times (New York), Aug 18, 1904
- Harford Courant (Connecticut), Jul 6, 1901, Jun 14, 1914, Aug 10, 1934, May 8, 1974
- The Journal (Meriden, Connecticut), Aug 17, 1934
- The Miami News (Florida), Jan 25, 1979
- News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), Apr 7, May 7, 1979
- The Boston Globe (Massachusetts), Apr 29, 1979
- The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), May 11, 1979