Historic 1928 Bunion Derby Virtual Challenge

The historic 1928 “Bunion Derby” was the brainchild of CC Pyle, one of the most renown sports promotors at that time. 199 runners started the foot race on March 4th, 1928 in Los Angeles and they spent 84 days plodding 3422 miles on their way to old Madison Square Garden in New York City, finishing on May 26, 1928.  For the first 2/3rds of the race, they followed the newly minted Route 66 to Chicago. From there they headed east 1,000 miles to New York City's old Madison Square Garden. While we follow the race's route in the opposite direction over the last two years (Chicago to Los Angeles, we will virtually follow the runners footsteps as described in James Powell's book, The 1928 Bunion Derby: A Historical Tour and Driving Guide, Chicago to New York City.  To learn more about the historic race, check out this great video produced by the Cherokee Tribe's Osiyo TV at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBR5zOVa8iU

To enhance your experience on your virtual Route 66 adventure, check out these useful tips.  

Once you register and are ready to log your activity, visit https://runsignup.com/Race/RegistrationLookup/?raceId=175801&renderMode=results_mode- then search on your name on the Find a Participant page, click on your information and you will see a "log activities" option button. Click this and bookmark the page so you can bypass all the steps next time you are ready to enter your daily activity!  

Once you have entered your data, wait a few minutes, and visit the results page. When you find your name, click on it, and you will see your progress page. Click on the "compare results map", and zoom in on your location.  Drag the yellow Google "map person" icon to your location and it will show you a 360 degree view of your stopping point. How cool is that? You can take a screen capture and share it with friends on social media. You can also add friends to your progress map to see their progress and where they have set up camp for the evening. 

If you enjoy social media, I have created a Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/712878626085205 This is a public group, so you can share posts and invite friends to join the fun. I will make it private in a heartbeat if anything inappropriate such as ads, political posts, or profanity shows up. 

If you are so inclined, you can upload photos of your daily activity. Keep in mind the photos are open to the public, so please be careful about what you upload.

If you wish to do your activity wearing a bib,  Go to your runsignup profile and click on "view bib" to print it out. 

About NATRA LLC

This Route 66 virtual challenge is brought to you for free by Northern Arizona Trail Runners Association (NATRA LLC).  Founded in fall 2001, NATRA’s mission is to promote trail running in Northern Arizona to folks of all abilities. We organize group runs of 5 to 8 miles at various trails on Saturday mornings whether there is rain, snow or shine!  If you are new to running or a seasoned veteran, come join us off road and discover the incredible forest trails of Northern Arizona.

We also organize the October 11th 26th Annual Soulstice Mountain Trail Run. The race is limited to 200 entrants, and since 2003, has been a sellout. Entry is done through a lottery system held on April 1st. In Spring 2011, Runners World listed Soulstice as one of the top 32 trail races in the United States, calling it "one of the best post race parties anywhere." Soulstice is put on entirely by volunteers.  All proceeds of Soulstice benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff mentoring programs helping Northern Arizona children succeed in life.  You can learn more about Northern Arizona Trail Runners Association by visiting our web page.