There may be maybe nobody in U.S. ultrarunning historical past who has had fairly as large an affect on the creation, growth, and even perhaps the soul of the game as John Cappis. When information of John’s loss of life at age 83 circulated by the ultrarunning neighborhood on the morning of Thursday, April 30, 2026, there was a profound sense that the extremely world had misplaced somebody whose full affect on the game won’t ever be fully understood. As our neighborhood mourns John’s passing, those that knew him nicely shared ideas concerning the affect he had on the game and on them.
John Cappis was at all times an integral a part of the Hardrock 100 neighborhood. Pictures: Blake Wooden
John Trent — journalist, veteran ultrarunner, and long-time Western States 100 board member — mirrored on John, saying, “What was distinctive about John was how he straddled the creation and the success of arguably the 2 most essential 100 milers in the US — the Western States 100 and Hardrock 100. He was a key contributor to each whereas they have been of their infancy, and it’s onerous to think about both one being what they’re at this time with out the indelible imprint of care, thoughtfulness, and imaginative and prescient for the long run that he was in a position to present every occasion.”
The Early Years
In 1975, 4 years after his first race, John completed the Boston Marathon in 2:36.
Then two years later, he confirmed up on the first Western States 100 begin line. He was one of many 14 pioneering runners who participated within the first formally organized Western States 100 in 1977 — when runners had entry to solely a few help stations and needed to drink from streams. Whereas he in the end dropped that 12 months at Michigan Bluff after midway, he completed the occasion in 1978 in 19:49. He and people different early runners supplied proof-of-concept that it was, the truth is, troublesome however doable to run 100 miles by the distant backcountry of California.
John was additionally one of many founders and key creators of the Hardrock 100 course when it debuted in 1992. He knew the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, the place the occasion would happen, just like the again of his hand. Few others may have mapped a line as aesthetic or artistic, particularly within the early 90s. John’s imaginative and prescient of what was doable was particularly distinctive since he hadn’t turn out to be a runner till he was almost 30.
John was in all places in these early years, taking part in and serving to to ascertain a sport nonetheless in its infancy. He was there when working rim-to-rim-to-rim within the Grand Canyon was an occasion within the early Eighties. He was there in the course of the fifth working of the Leadville 100 Mile in 1987. He participated within the first version of Hardrock and completed fourth. And John didn’t cease working — he completed the 17-mile high-altitude Imogene Go Run between the Colorado mining cities of Telluride and Ouray in 2003 at age 61.
John having fun with the Hardrock 100 course and neighborhood. Pictures: Hardrock 100/Andrew Cappis and Blake Wooden
Contributions to the Neighborhood
Whereas John didn’t race as prolifically as many others, he remained concerned in the neighborhood as a volunteer, serving on the Hardrock 100 board till 2008, and acquired Hardrock’s Mom Lode Award in 1996, recognizing his vital contributions to the Hardrock neighborhood. He was inducted into the Hardrock Corridor of Fame in 2025.
James Varner, Rainshadow Working race director and former Hardrock 100 course director, spent numerous hours within the mountains with John through the years. On Thursday, he mentioned, “The world misplaced a very good one at this time. John Cappis beloved the mountains, and he shared that love with hundreds of people that ran in races and enjoyable runs he helped to create. He was a sort, beneficiant, and supportive one that actually loved sharing these superb locations with others. As one of many founders of the Hardrock 100, he helped to create a race that many of us didn’t suppose on the time would even be doable to finish — 100 miles by the rugged and distant San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado.”
The 14 starters of the 1977 Western States 100. John is in a white sweatshirt and a hat on the appropriate. Photograph courtesy of Shannon Weil.
Dale Garland, Hardrock 100 run director, echoes the sentiment. “When Hardrock was not more than an concept, John’s data of the San Juans, their trails, and their challenges was one of many keys to creating Hardrock the occasion that it’s at this time. However his contributions went additional than that. His enthusiasm and help of all who joined us within the early years, his dedication to what he thought Hardrock may and ought to be, and his sage knowledge and recommendation on make these ideas and concepts right into a actuality all helped lay the muse for our occasion. Hardrock, the group, and Hardrock the neighborhood wouldn’t be what we’re at this time with out the fervour and dedication that John shared with us.”
A Legacy Lives on
Shannon Weil, one of many founders of the Western States 100 and the writer of “Buckle Fever: Origins of the Western States Endurance Run,” shared her early recollections of assembly John in the course of the 1977 Western States, saying, “Ever since that day in 1977 — when simply 14 runners set out alongside the horses and riders of the Tevis Cup — he’s lived in my thoughts as one thing bigger than life. John was a kind of authentic, brave few who helped form what would turn out to be the Western States Endurance Run. I bear in mind watching him, talking with him alongside the path whereas I rode. It has had a long-lasting affect on me.”
John Cappis in the course of the inaugural Western States 100 in 1977. Photograph courtesy of Shannon Weil.
John has definitely left behind a rare legacy. His reminiscence will reside on within the deep canyons of Western States and the hovering peaks of Hardrock, in addition to within the hearts of the hundreds of unusual people he impressed to do extraordinary issues.
Trent concluded his ideas by saying, “Not many can say they have been in on historical past on the very starting. And few others can ever say that they had a hand in shaping that early historical past. John did each. What an unbelievable legacy that he leaves us.”
Bottoms up!
Name for Feedback
- Do you might have a John Cappis story you’d be prepared to share?
