EP 726: Ultrarunning’s Past Was Wilder Than You Think

Trail Runner Nation

Ultramarathon, Fitness, Running, Community, Health & Fitness, Trail, Endurance, Trails, Sports

4.5 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 24 April 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

To really understand who we are as a running community—What drives us, what connects us, and why we keep pushing our limits, we have to look back. Long before ultras, Strava segments, or finish-line belt buckles, there was pedestrianism—a 19th-century spectacle where athletes raced for six days straight inside smoky arenas, cheered on by thousands.

Our resident ultrarunning historian, Davy Crockett, is back to introduce us to one of the most unforgettable figures from that era. Peter Napoleon Campana—better known as Old Sport. Davy just published another book, Old Sport Campana: Ultrarunning;s Most Popular and Amusing 19th Century Runner in his historical series that brings Campana’s story to life and helps us explore what it reveals about the roots of our sport—and why looking back just might help us better understand who we are today.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	People will look at times mock him.
0:03.6	One time a young boy yelled,
0:06.5	go sell your face to a drug store.
0:09.1	Or they would really make fun of him.
0:12.1	Well, he would very often jump over the fence,
0:15.8	sock the guy right in the face,
0:18.7	give him a black eye,
0:20.3	and jump right back on the track and continue on.
0:24.0	Nobody would do anything about that.
0:27.5	Why didn't they put them in jail?
0:31.5	The Trale Head of Trale Runner Nation
0:33.5	Welcome to the trailhead of Trale Runner Nation.
0:42.5	We go on weekly runs with all of the community out there.
0:47.2	There's plenty of room. The single track is completely smooth. There's no rocks. There's no roots.
0:53.8	It's a beautiful trail. We go on runs with interesting guests that are gonna help us become better stronger faster runners and
1:02.3	Maybe just better human beings. And today we will certainly be better for it as we turn around, spin on our heel, and look
1:09.1	back at history to find out where we're going.
1:11.8	Ooh, that was strong.
1:13.3	Oh, you like that?
1:16.7	This brings John G. Collective Exclusive print is now available, like all of their artist
1:23.2	series designs.
1:24.7	Once this print sells out, it's gone for good.
	...

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