A Japanese ultramarathon runner later this month plans to retrace Andy Payne’s steps during the 1928 International Transcontinental Foot Race, better known as the Bunion Derby.
Atsuyuki Katsuyama, a native of Japan who lives in Thailand, will begin the 3,400-mile trek from Los Angeles to New York City on April 25 and hopes to finish it in 80 days — averaging more than 40 miles a day, with a few rest days. His path will follow the entirety of Route 66.
The 1928 Bunion Derby — won by Foyil, Oklahoma, native Andy Payne in a big upset — helped cement a fledgling Route 66 in the American consciousness.
Lest anyone think Katsuyama, 47, isn’t up to the formidable task, he’s completed more than 77 marathons and 18 ultramarathons. However, it’s still mighty impressive Payne — in the days before sports medicine and modern running equipment — ran what was equal to a 4 1/2-hour marathon all the way across the country on primitive roads and all weather conditions. Fortunately, Katsuyama also will have a four-person crew to help him.
Here’s a recent video of him being interview about his quest:
(Hat tip to the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce, which is one of Katsuyama’s sponsors)
Should the assistance of the California Historic Route 66 Association be required, we may be able to address this at our board meeting this Saturday. Unfortunately, however, this is the first that I have heard about this trip. We still have a couple of weeks until he leaves on his trip but it would have been great to have had some more prep time to assist in creating a send off event.
My third grade class just finished reading The Foot Race Across America. We were quite surprised and excited to hear about “K” and will be keeping up with “K” on the website. We are cheering for you “K” from Rowell Elementary School Fresno, CA