The History of Ultramarathon

Highlighting the work of ultramarathon historian, Davy Crockett

Dec 12, 2024

As ultramarathon events have grown exponentially over the past decade, the sport has gotten introduced to a lot of new people. The mix is quite varied. I see people daily coming into the sport from a more traditional running background, and people searching for an ultramarathon finish line from very non-traditional backgrounds. One of my favorites to date was a former D1 collegiate offensive lineman reaching out about the process of completing a 100 miler. With this growth, it can be easy to miss how exactly these events came to be, and why some appear more or less popular. My general piece of advice for anyone who is curious in completing an ultra is to work towards the event or style that really draws out your passion and curiosity. At the end of the day, the preparation is the bulk of the time, so it may as well max out the excitement factor in chasing a scary goal.

One thing that sometimes stands out is how much of the history of ultra has gone unnoticed over the past decade. I routinely bump into ultra runners who assume the 100 mile distance is relatively new, or that some of the more fringe aspects of ultra were always that way. I recently had a chance to interview someone who I consider the most knowledgeable source of ultramarathon history. He has spent a PhD level amount of time exploring the sport in its entirety. His work is so in depth and fascinating to me I cannot help but want to elevate it as much as I can, so when someone toes the line of their first ultramarathon, they can draw motivation and interest from those who came before us. In some cases, WAY before us!

Davy Crockett is an ultramarathon runner and historian. He hosts ultrarunninghistory.com which includes his podcast of 167 episodes. Davy estimates he has spent over 30 hours on each of these episodes. He also has 10 books, that will eventually be 12 going over some of the most crazy details and timelines the sport has to offer. Davy is also the director of the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame. My podcast episode with Davy (release date: 12/26/24 or now: paid subscriber & patreon) highlighted a few things I found especially interesting, and wanted to share as a bit of a glimpse into the rich history of ultramarathon. Here are some that stood out to me.

Many of the early organized ultras were more of a last man standing style of events. Participants were tasked with completing a loop of a specific distance under a specific timeframe and repeat until one was left.
The 6-Day event, an event where participants aim to see how far they could go in six days, was the most popular event, and produced some World Records that stood for over 100 years.
The 6-Day got so popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s that the top in the sport were legitimate celebrities, netting upwards to what would equate $500,000.00 competing in these events annually.
Although the tech and nutrition was primitive, the sport was layered with all sorts of doping. Not technically being illegal in any sports federation way at the time.
The building that eventually became Madison Square Garden hosted huge events. These events had everything from: gambling, fist fights, heckling and cheering, and event attempts to poison competitors.

One question that I will leave unanswered for the podcast episode was something I was really interested in learning from Davy. Why if these events were so popular at the time, did they seemingly die off? The 6-Day is beginning to see some growth, along with the sport as a whole, but it is far from the spotlight event it once was, and for a while, was basically nonexistent.

The most recent growth in the sport has identified the 100 mile distance as one of the premier events in the sport. I believe this comes down to a mix of things, but one that stands out is the story telling. Events like the Western States Endurance Run 100 Mile, and UTMB 100 have both found their path into the hearts of many modern day ultramarathon runners. This paired with the recent growth in the sport being skewed towards the trails have left these events uniquely compelling.

As the sport continues to grow, and modern ultramarathon runners continue on their quest for bigger more audacious goals, a phrase that pops up occasionally is, “200s are the new 100s.” After diving into the history, I cannot help but think, “are 200s the gateway to a resurgence in the 6-Day?”

The History of Ultramarathon

Highlighting the work of ultramarathon historian, Davy Crockett

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