Andy Payne’s half-Cherokee bloodline might have contributed to his love of running, and run he did. To school, when most kids took horses, and at the school track and field events where he usually came away the winner. So when Payne saw an advertisement for the “First Annual Transcontinental Footrace,” with the top prize of $25,000, he thought the idea was too good to pass up. Payne got the blessing of his parents, persuaded the local Chamber of Commerce help fund his attempt, and borrowed the rest to cover the cost of the entry fee and training. And he started running.

On this day, May 26, in 1918, Payne crossed the Madison Square Garden finish line at the the great “Bunion Derby” as it came to be called. He ran 3,422 miles in 573 hours and four minutes. His closest competitor was more than sixteen hours behind.

Payne started off in a field of 275 from all corners of the globe. Runners followed a designated route between checkpoints, rested in tents provided by the organizers, and were served meals from rolling kitchens at each day’s checkpoint. The first day’s stop was just sixteen miles from the starting point in Los Angeles, and already seventy-seven had quit. When Payne finished, there were only 54 others behind him.