During a multi-day running race in 1897 in East Liverpool, Ohio, while in second place, ultrarunner Alice Robison of Pittsburgh was murdered by gunshot.

Most ultrarunners of the 1800s were driven by motivations of greed and fame. Some were involved in wild free-spending lifestyles, scandals, illegal activities, and run-ins with the law.

Steve Brodie of the New York City Bowery gained fame and fortune ultrarunning in 1879, lost it all, but eventually used fraud to revive his fame, by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge...or did he?

For the "pedestrian era" of ultrarunning, with thousands of spectators watching runners go in circles for six days, very strange disruptions were commonplace.

For the "pedestrian era" of ultrarunning, runners became afflicted by mental and physical illness during and after six-day runs. Some deaths occurred.

For the "pedestrian era" of ultrarunning, spectators hoped to watch a runner go cranky due to hallucinations and exhaustion in this 19th century reality show

Ultrarunning History is full of strange things. Peter Van Ness shot a his trainer during a race. John Snyder had a disorder that caused him to walk constantly

In 1879, a Women's Six-Day foot race was held in Madison Square Garden. It was extremely controversial, full of drama, crude comments from male spectators, fights between the contestants, charges of u

In 1879 a six-day foot race was held in Madison Square Garden. At the finish, 10,000 people waved flags and handkerchiefs. Hats were thrown high in the air for the new champion ultrarunner of the worl

In 1879 a six-day foot race was held in Madison Square Garden that captivated the entire city, witnessed by 80,000 and impacted worker productivity for a week