Someone is organizing a 100-mile footrace (that’s not a typo, folks) from Arcadia, Okla., to Sapulpa, Okla., in November 2006 to mark the 80th anniversary of Route 66. If you feel like you can trudge nearly four marathons in one shot, here’s where you can sign up for the Mother Road 100.
It starts at the Round Barn in Arcadia, and runners have about 29 hours to finish the race in front of Frankoma Pottery. The event’s organizers will run the course on the oldest alignments of Route 66 available. Virtually all runners will have to go all through the night to complete the course.
No sleep until you finish, or you’re dead, I guess.
Here’s an unusual excerpt from the FAQs:
any runner accepting a ride for any reason is out of the race.
Don’t laugh. It happened during a marathon in the Olympics many years ago.
It’s not mentioned on the site, but this race obviously is inspired by Oklahoma native Andy Payne, who beat many experienced runners to win the 3,400-mile Bunion Derby in 1928. Much of the race was run over Route 66. It’s an amazing story. There’s even a statue that was erected in his honor a few years ago on Route 66 near Foyil, Okla.