Trans-American Footrace
Encyclopedia
One of the earliest twentieth century multiday races
was the inaugural Trans-American footrace which took place in 1928 starting at Ascot Speedway in Los Angeles and finishing in New York City in Madison Square Garden.
Out of the 199 runners who left Los Angeles, California on March 4, 1928 at 3:30 p.m. only 55 runners finished on May 26, 1928. The race took 84 days to run from coast to coast. It was called the Bunion Derby by the newspapers and was also held in 1929. Runners included Paul Hardrock Simpson
and Andy Payne
who won the event. The race was organised by C. C. Pyle
.
Harry Abrams, who arrived in 11th place, repeated the feat in the opposite direction in 1929 (he came 9th), becoming the first and possibly the only person to twice run across the continental United States.
Multiday races
Multiday races are ultramarathon running events which are typically either segmented into daily events of a specified distance or time, or staged so that runners can run as far as they want, at their own discretion, over a set course or over a set number of days...
was the inaugural Trans-American footrace which took place in 1928 starting at Ascot Speedway in Los Angeles and finishing in New York City in Madison Square Garden.
Out of the 199 runners who left Los Angeles, California on March 4, 1928 at 3:30 p.m. only 55 runners finished on May 26, 1928. The race took 84 days to run from coast to coast. It was called the Bunion Derby by the newspapers and was also held in 1929. Runners included Paul Hardrock Simpson
Paul Hardrock Simpson
Paul Hardrock Simpson ran ultra distances and extreme races beginning in the late 1920s and continuing into the 1950s. Simpson was a letter carrier for the U.S.P.S. in Burlington, NC. Simpson made a name for himself by defeating a horse in a long distance race and went on to compete in numerous...
and Andy Payne
Andy Payne
Andy Hartley Payne was the winner of the Trans-American Footrace staged in 1928. He ran the 3,423.5 mile route from Los Angeles to New York City, much of it along U.S...
who won the event. The race was organised by C. C. Pyle
C. C. Pyle
Charles C. "C. C." Pyle , often called Cash and Carry Pyle, was a Champaign, Illinois theater owner and sports agent who represented American football star Red Grange and French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen...
.
Harry Abrams, who arrived in 11th place, repeated the feat in the opposite direction in 1929 (he came 9th), becoming the first and possibly the only person to twice run across the continental United States.
Recently
A coast to coast race has taken place several times since including four races organised by Jessie Dale Riley & Michael Kenney 1992-95. Alan Firth organised two events in 2002 and 2004.Present
In 2011 ultrarunner Serge Girard is planning a new edition running from Los Angeles to New York starting June 19 and lasting for 70 days.Reference
- Williams, Geoff "C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America" July 10, 2007 ISBN 1594863199