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Podcast: Ultrarunning History
Episode: 71: The 100-miler: Part 18 (1977) Western States 100
Description: By Davy Crockett
The 1977 Western States 100
Andy Gonzales
In 1977, Wendell T. Robie (1895-1984), the president of the Western States Trail Foundation and the director of the Western States Trail Ride (Tevis Cup), decided that it was time to add a runner division to his famous Ride. For more than two decades this 100-mile endurance horse race had been held on the famous trail in the California Sierra. Could ultrarunners also race the course?
Robie had previously helped seven soldiers successfully complete the course on foot in 1972 (See Forgotten First Finishers), the first to do so, and had been pleased that G...