Ted Corbitt, American Ultra Pioneer, Dies at 88
Generally regarded as the father of American ultrarunning, Corbitt died in Houston on December 11 from cancer.
Born in South Carolina in 1919, Corbitt was a quarter miler in college at the University of Cincinnati. He began running marathons in 1950 and competed in the marathon in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. He ran his first ultra, a 30-mile race, in 1958 and in 1960 was elected the first President of the Road Runners Club of America.
In 1966, RRCA established a national 50-mile championship and Corbitt finished second. He won the 1968 RRCA 50-mile championship in a time of 5:39:45. He continued his competitive career well into his 50s, setting an American record at 100 miles (13:33:06) at age 50 and running 134.7 miles in 24 hours at age 54.
Injuries and asthma removed him from the competitive scene for many years, but he continued to run well into his 80s, and completed 303 miles in the Sri Chinmoy 6-Day race at age 82. He worked as a physical therapist for more than 40 years, and could often be found quietly volunteering at races in the New York City area. Corbitt was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1998.
A founding father of Ultrarunning.