Charlie Trayer, of Pennsylvania, was one of the greatest “short-range” American ultrarunners of the 1980s.  During his ultrarunning career, he accumulated at least fifteen ultra wins from 1981-1990, including several national championships. He was known for bolting out into the lead like a “wild banshee” at the start of a race with a “kamikaze attitude” no matter what the distance. It was a winning strategy that he used very effectively.

Trayer went from running in the Olympic Marathon Trials to ultrarunning. He was one of the very few elite American ultrarunners of the 1980s who competed against the best runners in the world internationally. He is credited for bringing American ultrarunning to the world stage, and became both feared and greatly respected by runners in the ultrarunners in Europe. He was definitely a runner to watch. In 1987 he was named the Ultrarunner of the year by Ultrarunning Magazine and was honored also in 1987 as the first recipient of the TAC Ted Corbitt Award. He was easy to pick out and known for his bright red hair and beard. At one time he was described as a cross between a leprechaun and Yosemite Sam.