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
98: Six-Day Race Part 6: Weston vs. O’Leary (1875)
In 1875, Edward Payson Weston was the most famous ultrarunner (pedestrian) in the world. Like a heavyweight boxing champion dodging his competition to keep his crown, he avoided repeated challenges t…
00:23:29 |
Fri 21 Jan 2022
97: Six-Day Race Part 5: Daniel O’Leary (1875)
By March 1875, Edward Payson Weston, from New York City, was on top of the ultrarunning world (called Pedestrianism). He had just won the first six-day race in history, was the only person who had ev…
00:26:48 |
Mon 10 Jan 2022
96: Across the Years – The First Year (1983)
Across the Years race, established in 1983, is being held this week in Arizona for the 37th time. It is one of the oldest fixed-time races in the world that is still held annually. The race is always…
00:29:44 |
Wed 22 Dec 2021
95: Six-Day Race Part 4: First Six-Day Race (1875)
P.T. Barnum featured ultrarunners (pedestrians) in 1874 who were attempting to reach 500 miles in six days, to bring paying patrons into his massive indoor Hippodrome in New York City 24-hours a day.…
00:26:02 |
Tue 14 Dec 2021
94: Six-Day Race Part 3: P.T. Barnum – Ultrarunning Promoter (1874)
The ultimate showman, P.T. Barnum of circus fame, was surprisingly the first serious ultrarunning promoter and established the first six-day race in America. He was famous for the saying “There’s a s…
00:28:55 |
Tue 30 Nov 2021
93: Eric Clifton – Legendary 100-mile Trail Ultrarunner
Eric Clifton, originally from North Carolina, now of California, was inducted into the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame in 2021. Clifton was the fastest and most dominating 100-mile trail runner du…
00:32:50 |
Fri 19 Nov 2021
92: Six-Day Race Part 2: Edward Payson Weston (1870-1874)
The six-day race became the most popular ultrarunning (pedestrian) event of the 19th century. Foster Powell started it all in 1773 when he ran 400 miles in six days in England. During the next fifty …
00:24:17 |
Wed 10 Nov 2021
91: Six-Day Race Part 1: The Birth (1773-1870)
The six-day event has roots in the ultrarunning sport going back nearly 250 years.
Ultrarunners who exclusively run trails may wonder, “what is this six-day race and why is it important?” The six-d…
Ultrarunners who exclusively run trails may wonder, “what is this six-day race and why is it important?” The six-d…
00:26:20 |
Mon 01 Nov 2021
90: JFK 50 – America’s Oldest Ultramarathon
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy unintentionally played an important role that provided the spark to ignite interest for ultrarunning in America and elsewhere. The door was flung open for all who w…
00:27:57 |
Thu 21 Oct 2021
89: Spartathlon Part 2 (1983) – The First Race
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. 1983 …
00:29:40 |
Thu 07 Oct 2021
88: Spartathlon Part 1 (1982) – The Birth
Spartathlon is one of the most prestigious ultramarathons in the world. It is a race of about 246 km (153 miles), that takes place each September in Greece, running from Athens to Sparta on a highly …
00:26:30 |
Sun 19 Sep 2021
87: The 100-miler: Part 27 (1979) – Old Dominion 100
The Old Dominion 100, established in 1979, was held in Virginia along the beautiful Shenandoah River. It was one of the first classic modern-era American trail 100-milers. Today, few ultrarunners hav…
00:28:24 |
Mon 06 Sep 2021
86: Jackie Mekler (1932-2019) – Comrades Legend
Jackie Mekler from South Africa was perhaps the greatest ultrarunner in the world during the late 1950s and early 1960s and was a five-time winner of the Comrades Marathon (54 miles). His path to gre…
00:29:36 |
Thu 26 Aug 2021
85: Mavis Hutchison – The Galloping Granny
Mavis Hutchison was a pioneer ultrarunner from South Africa who blazed the trail for women runners worldwide. She finished Comrades eight times in years when very few women ran. She had an impressive…
00:28:24 |
Thu 12 Aug 2021
84: Wally Hayward (1908-2006) – South African Legend
Early conditioning can be very important. Wally Hayward came from a very tough background. His father, Wallace George Hayward, the son of a coal agent, had been born in Peckham in London, England in …
00:29:15 |
Thu 29 Jul 2021
83: Hardy Ballington – The Forgotten Great Ultrarunner
The forgotten man of Ultrarunning is arguably Hardy Ballington (1912-1974), lauded in 1939 in Natal, South Africa, as “the second Newton” and a “human machine”. Dominant immediately before and after …
00:25:13 |
Mon 19 Jul 2021
82: Roller Skating Ultra Distances – 1885 Six Days
Professional ultrarunners/pedestrians of the late 1800s and early 1900s were constantly looking for endurance races or head-to-head matches to prove their abilities and make significant amounts of mo…
00:30:47 |
Tue 06 Jul 2021
81: The 100-miler: Part 26 – The 1978 Western States 100
The 1978 Western States 100 was the second year the race was held. Six years earlier, seven soldiers from Fort Riley Kansas proved that the horse trail could be conquered on foot and they were award…
00:26:50 |
Mon 21 Jun 2021
80: The Comrades Marathon
The Comrades Marathon (about 55 miles), held in South Africa, is the world’s largest and oldest ultramarathon race that is still held today with fields that have topped 23,000 runners.
The year 2021…
The year 2021…
Tue 08 Jun 2021
79: The 100-miler: Part 25 (1978-1984) Early Hawaiian 100-milers
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 the 100-mile race and other ultr…
00:29:12 |
Wed 26 May 2021
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