079. Craig Thornley, Western States race director | Western States, the growth of the sport, the culture and spirit of ultra running
Running long - A trail and ultra running talk
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The History of the Western State Trail Race
Western State is the oldest 100 mile trail race in America, probably in the world. It was started by local businessmen Wendell Robey who cobbled together some historic trails that were used in gold mining days and by indigenous peoples. In 1974, Gordy Ainsley, who had ridden Tevis before, he ran the race on foot alongside the horses in 1974. We had to implement a lottery in 1981 in 1984. The community nowadays, most of the, I would say most of the volunteers are runners.
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