Ultrarunning History
This is a podcast about the history of the sport of ultrarunning. An ultramarathon is generally a race of 50K (31 miles) or more. The sport became popular in the 1980s, but had been in existence since the late 19th century. This podcast will share history and tell stories about ultrarunning history generally before 2000.
- Update frequency
- every 13 days
- Average duration
- 28 minutes
- Episodes
- 179
- Years Active
- 2018 - 2025
118: Ultrarunning Stranger Things – Part 8: Love Scandals
Perhaps this is the tabloid episode of 19th century pedestrianism. In the late 1800s, ultrarunners (called pedestrians back then), both male and female spent a prolonged time away from their homes an…
00:27:07 |
Mon 03 Oct 2022
117: Ultrarunning Stranger Things – Part 7: Murder of Alice Robison
On April 24, 1897, ultrarunning/pedestrian champion Alice Robison was running in second place on the last day of a three-day race held at the Fifth Street Rink in East Liverpool, Ohio, with five runn…
00:28:34 |
Mon 19 Sep 2022
116: Ultrarunning Stranger Things – Part 6: Fraud, Theft, and Nuisance
By 1906, when the pedestrian era was over, most of the elite pedestrians turned to legitimate professions to support their families. Daniel O’Leary was traveling for a big publishing house. John “Lep…
00:25:17 |
Wed 07 Sep 2022
115: Ultrarunning Stranger Things – Part 5: Steve Brodie – New York Newsboy
The 19th century ultrarunner was a different breed of athlete compared to those today who participate in the sport. A large number of those early runners were not necessarily the most outstanding cit…
00:33:15 |
Wed 24 Aug 2022
114: Ultrarunning Stranger Things – Part 4: Race Disruptions
Today’s ultras usually have few disruptions from outsiders or spectators. The most serious disturbances are typically from people who take down course flagging which can cause runners to go off cours…
00:25:50 |
Wed 10 Aug 2022
113: Ultrarunning Stranger Things – Part 3: Sickness and Death
Sadly, some professional walkers and runners from the “pedestrian” era, more than 120 years ago, became afflicted by mental and physical illness during and after six-day runs, likely caused by the po…
00:23:53 |
Fri 29 Jul 2022
112: Ultrarunning Stranger Things – Part 2: Hallucinations
For the "pedestrian era" of ultrarunning, more than 120 years ago, spectators hoped to watch a runner go what they called, “cranky” in this reality show. It was said that by hour 36 of a six-day race…
00:23:12 |
Thu 14 Jul 2022
111: Ultrarunning Stranger Things – Part 1: Two Tales
The sport of ultrarunning during the 19th century was truly filled with tales of strange things that are unthinkable and shocking to us today. Taking a tangent from the six-day history which will con…
00:25:03 |
Mon 27 Jun 2022
110: Six-day Race Part 16: Women’s International Six-Day (1879)
Many women participated in six-day races during the 1800s. With the great publicity of the Astley Belt Six-Day races, and the popularity of the new go-as-you-please format inviting running, the six-d…
00:26:30 |
Thu 16 Jun 2022
109: Six-day Race Part 15: Third Astley Belt Race – Finish (1879)
The Third Astley Belt six-day race held in March 1879 caused a violent riot in downtown New York City. The shocking details are covered in Part one. As this concluding part opens, four elite ultraru…
00:28:02 |
Sun 29 May 2022
108: Six-day Race Part 14: Third Astley Belt Race – 1 (1879)
By the end of 1878, at least 41 six-day races had been held in America and Great Britain since P.T. Barnum started it all with the first race in 1875. Daniel O’Leary of Chicago was still the undefeat…
00:26:45 |
Tue 17 May 2022
107: Six-day Race Part 13: Second Astley Belt Race (1878)
In 1878, Daniel O’Leary of Chicago was the undisputed world champion of ultrarunning/pedestrianism. He cemented that title with his victory in the First International Astley Belt Six-day Race in Lond…
00:27:06 |
Tue 03 May 2022
106: Six Day Race Part 12 – First Astley Belt (1878)
By 1878, interest in ultrarunning/pedestrianism had taken a strong hold in Great Britain. The six-day race was viewed as a unique new branch of the running sport that fascinated many sporting enthusi…
00:27:54 |
Wed 20 Apr 2022
105: Six Day Race Part 11: O’Leary vs. Weston II (1877)
In America, 1876 had been a “loopy” six-day race year, with at least eighteen races held. Interest was high, but there were also skeptics. Closing out the last episode, Daniel O’Leary, of Chicago, th…
00:24:51 |
Wed 06 Apr 2022
104: Six Day Race Part 10: Grand Walking Tournament (1876)
The year 1876 was a particularly important year in ultrarunning/pedestrian history and thus several episodes have covered the events held that year. It was the year when the six-day races started to …
00:25:43 |
Sat 26 Mar 2022
103: Ukrainian Ultrarunners
Ultrarunning in Ukraine has had a long, wonderful history since the early 1970s. As the country is being ravaged from war, ultrarunners around Ukraine have turned their attention to survival, defendi…
00:24:27 |
Mon 14 Mar 2022
102: Six Day Race Part 9: Women’s Six-day Frenzy (1876)
In early 1876, Chicago, Illinois was the six-day race capital of the world. A six-day race frenzy broke out in many other cities after the incredible Mary Marshall vs. Bertha Von Hillern race was hel…
00:26:36 |
Tue 08 Mar 2022
101: Six Day Race Part 8: First Women’s Race (1876)
In early 1876 while Edward Payson Weston was taking on England in storm, embarrassing the British long-distance walkers and runners in the first six-day race in that country (see episode 99), the six…
00:26:12 |
Wed 23 Feb 2022
100: Western States 100 – The First Finishers on Foot
In Auburn, California, on the evening of July 30, 1972, an awards banquet was held at the fairgrounds for the finishers of the Western States Trail Ride, also known as the Tevis Cup. There was additi…
Wed 09 Feb 2022
99: Six-Day Race Part 7: Weston Invades England (1876)
The six-day challenge originally started in England during the late 1700s. Fifty years later, in the 1820s, a six-day frenzy occurred as many British athletes sought to reach 400 or more miles in six…
00:28:08 |
Wed 02 Feb 2022
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