In Part 1 of The Mountain Runners, the historian/film maker team of Todd Warger and Brian Young revealed the origins of America's first mountain adventure race in 1911 -- a harrowing route from Bellingham, Washington to the summit of Mount Baker and back via automobile, train, foot -- and sometimes by horse. We listened to a detailed account of the inaugural event, which included a train derailment and exaggerated claims of catastrophe -- the 19th Century version of "fake news." Joe Galbraith won that race, with Harvey Haggert not far behind in second place. It was a spectacle that put Bellingham on the map, thanks to the national exposure the event received.
In 1912, the Mount Baker Club and the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce decided to up the ante for the now widely publicized Mount Baker Marathon, and the race became the centerpiece of a three-day festival that included a circus, a visit from a naval fleet, and the attendance of the governor and first lady of Washington among the thousands of spectators who flocked to the event. Thanks to the capriciousness of Mother Nature, however, the contest soon pitted not only a more elite field of runners against one another for a larger cash prize, but also the communities Glacier, Deming, and Concrete -- each of which vied for bragging rights as a gateway to the Cascades. More ominously, however, the 1912 race also highlighted a conflict between the interests of safety and commerce that would sow the seeds of the event's eventual demise.
