158: Ted Corbitt – The Father of American Ultrarunning – Part One

By Davy Crockett



Ted Corbitt, known as "The Father of American Ultrarunning," was from South Carolina, Cincinnati, Ohio, and New York City. Ultrarunning has existed for more the 200 years, but with the Great Depression and World War II, it went on a long hiatus in America. Because of Corbitt’s efforts, running past the marathon distance took root in the New York City area, starting in the late 1950s.

Not only was he a world-class runner, but he became a talented administrator, and race organizer that made huge contributions toward innovations to the sport, such as course measurements, that we take for granted today. All ultrarunners need to take time to learn who this man was and not let the memory of him fade. He was the first person to be inducted into the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame. Because of his significance to the sport, this will be a multi-part article/episode. Visit TedCorbitt.com to learn far more about this amazing athlete and man. Also, you can read his official biography by John Chodes: Corbitt: The Story of Ted Corbitt, Long Distance Runner.

Theodore “Ted” Corbitt (1919-2007) was born in Dunbarton, Barnwell, South Carolina, to John Henry Corbitt (1894-1974) and Alma Bing (1895-2003). Dunbarton was a railroad stop town with agriculture as the main focus. His father, John, was a cotton and corn farmer and part-time preacher.

Corbitt’s ancestors from the Corbitt and Bing lines were enslaved in South Carolina for many generations.

Ted's Grandfather, Ezekiel Bing

His grandfather, Deacon Zeek Bing (1855-1938) was born into slavery, also in Barnwell County. In 1860, there were at least 17,000 slaves in the county. Most of them had ancestry from Angola, Africa. Children on the cotton plantations started to work by about the age of five and by 10-12 years old did hard adult work. When freedom came after the Civil War, the hard work as freedmen to survive in South Carolina did not go away.

Ted Corbitt was the oldest child in his family. He later had two sisters, Bernice (Corbitt) Buggs (1926-2006) and Louise Estelle (Corbitt) Fairbanks (1927-2022) and two brothers, Elijah Corbitt (1928-1999), and Henry Corbitt (1924-1925) who died as an infant.

As a youth, Corbitt worked hard on the family farm, which eventually grew to 160 acres. At times, he would pick more than 100 pounds of cotton in a day. He had to walk a total of four miles each day to get to and from his school, using the narrow, dusty roads and trails. His grandfather, Henry Corbitt (1873-) lived nearby. Grandpa Corbitt had good running and jumping abilities as a youth, and he inspired Corbitt with stories of his athletic adventures. The Bings, who were his mother's relatives, enjoyed greater financial success, and his mother's ambition encouraged him to succeed academically and attend college.

In 1929, Corbitt's family relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio, when he was about ten years old, due to the challenges of farming in South Carolina. During the Great Depression, they lived in the West End, which was the center of Cincinnati’s black community. The neighborhood had a high concentration of inexpensive housing covering a 35-block area. It was the home to 70% of the city’s black community. Times were very hard. His father worked as a pick and shovel laborer. They lived at 1027 Richmond Street, which is now a freeway (I-75).

Corbitt encountered athletics after arriving in Cincinnati. In junior high, he entered a 60-yard dash and won. As he got bigger and stronger, he became faster. At Woodward High School, he joined the track team. Compared to other high schools in Cincinnati, the school on Sycamore Street had the most inadequate facilities, including the absence of a sports field. It was not until his final year of high school that he really excelled in the 880-yard run. He finished fourth in the city championship.

Tarzan Brown

During his high school years, he saw a newsreel about the native American,