115: Ultrarunning Stranger Things – Part 5: Steve Brodie – New York Newsboy

The 19th century ultrarunner was a different breed of athlete compared to those today who participate in the sport. A large number of those early runners were not necessarily the most outstanding citizens. For the vast majority, the motivation for participating was not to see what they could personally accomplish running long distances. They were primarily motivated by greed and gaining fame. It should not be too surprising that many were involved in wild free-spending lifestyles, scandals, illegal activities, and run-ins with the law.

A pattern emerged for many of the most successful ultrarunners of the 1800s. They would quickly gain fame and build up a massive fortune, only to come crashing down a few years later through their own mismanagement, dishonesty, and huge egos.  Even the most famous pedestrian of all, Edward Payson Weston, blew through his money, filed for bankruptcy, and was criticized for abandoning his family at times. In this episode, the story of seventeen-year-old Steve Brodie of New York City is a case study of one who gained fame and fortune ultrarunning but treated many people terribly along the way and eventually used fraud to revive his fame. The American vernacular term “do a Brodie” meaning taking a bad risk, or experiencing a complete failure/flop, came about because of Steve Brodie, the New York Newsboy Pedestrian.