St. Joseph, Missouri, October 25. Karl Meltzer of Sandy, Utah finished his run from Sacramento, California to St. Joseph, Missouri, retracing the route that was used by the Pony Express. The run totaled 2064 miles in 40 days, and was completed with a 105.4-mile day at the end, which took him 20 hours, 23 minutes to complete. He averaged 4.81 miles per hour for the entire run, and also managed to squeeze in 9 holes of golf (and shot a 44) on day 37. Meltzer’s run was sponsored by Red Bull, but in the numerous statistics published there was no mention of the amount of Red Bull consumed. Or, for that matter, beer.
The Pony Express served as the premier mail service from east to west for 18 months in the 1860s and became the West’s best form of communication prior to the telegraph. Meltzer, the 2006 UltraRunning magazine Runner of the Year, has won a record 29 100-mile races.
Photo: Meltzer, en route (photo © Lloyd C. Eldredge)