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Davy Crockett and Ultrarunning's History of Inclusivity

2026-02-07

Ultrarunners and race directors have surprised me time and time again with their whole-hearted acceptance of me and my identity. In this era of divisive politics and heated rivalries, ultrarunning persists as a bastion of indiscriminate love in a way that seems to defy logic. How is it so easy for the race director of a 100-miler held in a religious and conservative community to respond to the topic of transgender inclusion with a “you do you and we’ll just be grateful you’re here” attitude? The government continues to uphold laws that keep trans kids from playing soccer. Transgender women have been barred from representing the US at international competitions. Political commentators have made a career out of their transphobia, and yet ultrarunning just doesn’t seem to care. Why is this sport so different? What about this sport’s history has created an environment that fosters radical inclusivity?

<h3>A Brief Aside on Demographic Diversity</h3>

Throughout the history of the sport of ultrarunning—dating back at least as far as 1759 when George Guest attempted to walk 1,000 miles in 28 days—organized ultra-distance events have primarily featured rich, white men (Crockett, “1,000 Milers – Part 1”).  Ultrarunning’s demographic makeup is nothing if not logical. The people who participate have the time and money to afford walking continuously for a month straight. And the sport’s demographic makeup doesn’t seem to have evolved much since those early outings of bored white people who wanted something fun to bet on. From the professionals to the casual participants, ultrarunning fails to reflect the diversity of the communities the clubs and races exist within (Tang and Shnier). In response to the sport’s predominantly white and affluent demographic appeal, ultrarunners have begun to form groups like Melanin Base Camp to start encouraging a culture shift within the sport (Tang and Schnier). While ultrarunning does seem to foster a general attitude of acceptance, the act of reaching a race’s starting line still requires BIPOC, LGBTQ, and economically disadvantaged athletes to navigate roadblocks that don’t exist for the average white guy on a 50k starting line.

<h3>Ultrarunning’s Library of Alexandria</h3>

Davy Crockett’s blog Ultrarunning History is arguably one of the most impressive historical collections created by a single individual. Over the last several decades, Davy Crockett has organized and synthesized nearly 300 years of ultrarunning history. His articles number into the hundreds and each contains dozens of sources that range from newspaper clippings to books you’ll only find in the hidden archives of a college library. Davy Crockett has unearthed race results from an 1867 mountain 100-miler in northern Mexico. He found firsthand accounts of a woman’s recovery following a month-long backyard ultra. His website tells the tale of a sport that has outlived nations, persisted through wars, and drawn the fascination of millions. And within this centuries long story, ultrarunning demonstrates time and time again that running really far is a universal human instinct—an instinct that no amount of bigotry can suppress.

<h3>The Women Ultrarunners of the 1800’s</h3>

Across a handful of articles, Davy Crockett tells the story of women’s entrance in ultradistance racing during the 1800’s. One of these stories features a “Mrs. Harrison.” Mrs. Harrison was the first documented woman to complete a Barclay. The Barclay is a spiritual predecessor to the modern backyard ultra. To complete this challenge, an athlete was required to walk or run a mile each hour for 1,000 hours or about 42 days. Mrs. Harrison’s accomplishment in 1844 inspired over 100 other women to attempt the feat in the following decades, and many of those women succeeded.

One of those women, Emma Sharp, attempted a Barclay in 1864. Her attempt attracted massive attention and the crowds reached into the thousands during the final days. Spectators placed bets on her success, and by the time she finished, her accomplishment yielded enough money that her husband quit his job and started his own business (“1,000 Milers – The Barclay Match”).

In 1867, a group of eight Tarahumara women competed in a mountain 100-miler (“The Tarahumara Ultrarunners”) in northern Mexico. This women-only race is likely one of the earliest examples of an organized trail 100-miler, and news of the event reached all the way back to New York where it was featured in the New York Herald. In the years following the race, both European and American women began to participate in competitive walking matches that could extend for multiple days (Crockett, “100-Miler: Part 2”).

In Chicago in 1876, nine women competed in the first ever women’s six-day race. Believe it or not, the six-day race was one of the most popular sporting events in the English-speaking world during the late 1800’s. These matches were held on indoor tracks with seating for spectators surrounding the track. Tickets to these events were hard to come by, and the most popular of these races would field several million dollars’ worth of bets by today’s currency. The 1876 Chicago race was no exception. The final two women would go on to walk well over 200 miles in the six days, and the notoriety of the event led to the two of them becoming household names (Crockett, “Six Day Race”).

<h3>Frank Hart: Ultrarunning’s Jackie Robinson</h3>

Davy Crockett also covers Frank Hart, a Black athlete and one of the most successful athletes of the late-1800’s. During the era of six-day races, ultra-distance events also became popular in black communities. Hart began participating in 1879 hoping to make a little money on the side, and he quickly developed into a national-class racer. His first event was a qualifying match put on by a man named Fred Englehardt who was hoping to find an athlete to represent Massachusetts in a multi-state competition. The winner of the race would have Englehardt’s support and a fair sum of money to go along with it. Englehardt didn’t care who won, all he needed was someone who could compete at the national level. Frank Hart was his guy. Hart won the race, beginning an athletic career which would go on to make him millions (“Frank Hart”).

<h3>Miki Gorman: The Mid-1900’s Ultrarunning Star</h3>

While the above examples are evidence of radical inclusion during ultrarunning’s early years, Davy Crockett covers more recent examples as well. In one article, he details the success of Miki Gorman during the mid-1900s. Miki was a Japanese American immigrant who took up running at 33 to fill time when she wasn’t at work. Her love and talent for ultra-distance events developed quickly, and within a year she was recruited to a professional team led by Mihaly Igloi, one of the founders of modern running training theory. She set world records at the 100-mile and marathon distances over the next decade and retired shortly before women were allowed to compete at the Olympic marathon (“The 100-Miler: Part 11”).

<h3>The Women of Western States</h3>

In Davy Crockett’s retelling of the history of the Western States 100, he gives credit to Mary Bradley Lyles for having the idea that led directly to the race’s creation. Mary’s spouse Joseph McCarthy was a captain in the army and was looking for a way to test his “adventure team.” Mary suggested that they try finishing the Western States Trail Ride, a horse race, on foot. Joseph got approval, trained his team, and took them out to California for the event in the heat of the summer in 1972. Six of the original 20 managed to finish the race, some taking nearly two days to do so, but their accomplishment inspired the race’s director, Wendell Robie, to create the Western States 100 Run (“Western States 100 - The First Finishers on Foot”).

The race would begin to take shape as an official event in 1977 with Mo Livermore, Phil Gardner, Cort Sproul, and Shannon Weil—affectionately known as the “gang of four”—forming the run’s first board of directors (“Western States Beginnings”). That year, the race ran concurrently with horse race and only featured a starting list of 14 brave souls. Only three would end up finishing.

The following year, the board and Robie chose to move the race to its own weekend and began advertising the race nationally. Mo and Shannon, the two women of the group, took the reins as co-race directors. 63 runners started the 1978 race including five women. With added aid station and medical support, about half of the starters managed to finish the run. Among those finishers was Pat Smythe who completed the course in 29 hours to become the first woman to finish Western States (“The 100-miler: Part 26).

In later years, one of the race’s board members would give credit to Mo and Shannon for the race’s existence.  It was due to their efforts that the modern Western States formed out of its roots as a challenge for an army’s adventure team into the world’s most famous mountain 100-mile. Mo and Shannon’s work with Western States inspired 100-mile mountain races to pop up across the United States in the following years, and many of those race directors would call up Mo and Shannon to find out how they did it (“The 100-miler: Part 26”).

<h3>Conclusion</h3>

Davy Crockett’s history of ultrarunning tells the story of a sport that’s welcomed athletes from marginalized populations time and time again over the span of the last two centuries. Women and Black athletes have played a huge part in defining the history of our sport, and the mark that they’ve left on today’s version of ultrarunning is undeniable. Even if ultrarunners don’t know who founded western states, who the first Black-American athletic superstar was, or how women participated in the bizarre backyard ultra trend of the mid-1800’s, their attitude towards the sport and its participants is shaped by the people in these stories. Ultrarunning has a history of radical inclusion, and I’m grateful that it continues to live up to its legacy.

<h3>Works Cited</h3>

Crockett, Davy. “1,000 Milers - Part 1.” Ultrarunning History, 14 Feb. 2019, https://ultrarunninghistory.com/1000-milers-1/.

---. “1,000 Milers - The Barclay Match.” Ultrarunning History, 9 Mar. 2019, https://ultrarunninghistory.com/1000-milers-part-2/.

---. “Frank Hart - Part 1: The First Black Ultrarunning Star.” Ultrarunning History, 23 Jan. 2023, https://ultrarunninghistory.com/frank-hart-1/.

---. “Six Day Race Part 8: First Women’s Race (1876).” Ultrarunning History, 23 Feb. 2022, https://ultrarunninghistory.com/first-womens-six-day/.

---. “The 100-Miler: Part 2 (1874-1878) - Women.” Ultrarunning History, 29 May 2020, https://ultrarunninghistory.com/100-miler-part-2/.

---. “The 100-Miler: Part 11 (1970-1971) - Women Run 100-Milers.” Ultrarunning History, 30 Oct. 2020, https://ultrarunninghistory.com/100-miler-11/.

---. “The 100-Miler: Part 26 – The 1978 Western States 100.” Ultrarunning History, 20 Jun. 2021, https://ultrarunninghistory.com/1978-western-states-100/.

---. “The Tarahumara Ultrarunners.” Ultrarunning History, 3 Jul. 2019, https://ultrarunninghistory.com/tarahumara/.

---. “Western States 100 Beginnings.” Ultrarunning History, 30 Jan. 2019, https://ultrarunninghistory.com/endurance-riding-part-3/.

---. “Western States 100 – The First Finishers on Foot.” Ultrarunning History, 8 Feb. 2022, Western States 100 – The First Finishers on Foot.

Tang, Vivian, and Schnier, Jessica. “The Achilles Heel of Trail Running - Racial Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.” Melanin Base Camp, 19 Nov. 2025, https://www.melaninbasecamp.com/trip-reports/2024/8/17/the-achilles-heel-of-trail-running.

HomebrewHappiness

Davy Crockett and Ultrarunning's History of Inclusivity

Homebrew
Happiness