There is a special breed of ultrarunner that historian Jim Shapiro in 1980 called the “solo artist.” These runners usually had solid ultrarunning abilities, but instead of regularly completing in races, they used their abilities to accomplish stunts. This was done to garner attention from spectators and fans and to gain income and sponsorships. Solo artists would always invent and claim “world records.” They had creative nicknames and their marketing people would prop them up as being the “world's greatest runner.” Solo artists have always existed in ultrarunning and still exist today.

In the 1920s and 1930s as professional running races were drying up, many of the ultrarunners of that time used their creativity to become a solo artist. They did various stunts and accomplished numerous point-to-point "journey runs” to claim “world records” or what today we call a “fastest known times” for a runs between cities. Some of the solo artists fabricated their accomplishments to bolster their running resume. Reporters at the time just believed and published what the runner or their manager would say about them without any verification. Fabrication of accomplishments even happens today.

Many of these solo artists were fascinating charismatic characters who had impressive running abilities and accomplished many outlandish stunts. One of these amazing characters was “The Flying Yank,” John J. Seiler (1903-1983) of Brooklyn, New York. He left a lasting impression on tens of thousands of fans and young high school students