The idea for this unusual race was conceived in 1911 by the Mount Baker
Club. This club consisted of Bellingham businessmen who wished to promote
tourism and development in the Mount Baker area. During this time there was
also debate over the best route for hikers and climbers exploring Mount Baker.
Citizens of Glacier felt the Glacier Trail was the best route. A group of
county residents felt the Deming Trail, along the Middle Fork, was the better
approach. These differences of opinion, combined with the Mount Baker Club's
promotional ideas, resulted in the creation of the "Mount Baker Marathon."
This contest would satisfy the dual purpose of promotion while determining
the best route for exploration. For added excitement marathoners would perform
the remarkable feat of running all the way to Mount Baker's 10,778 foot summit
and back.
Marathon contestents were allowed to pick their trail. If racers chose the
Glacier Trail route a special train would transport them from the Bellingham
Chamber of Commerce 44 miles to Glacier, on the North Fork of the Nooksack
River. From here they would have to run to the mountain's summit by way of
the 14 mile Glacier Trail. If racers chose, instead, to take a car from Bellingham
they would drive 26 miles to Heisler's Ranch, on the Middle Fork, then run
the last 16 miles up the Deming Trail to the summit. Both routes had the same
elevation gain of 9700 feet; the Deming Trail was longer but the grade wasn't
as steep.
Officials
were were posted along the route and judges were positioned at the summit
of the mountain to certify that each racer made it to the top. At the starting
gun, on August 10, 1911, fourteen men charged out of Bellingham, six by automobile
and eight by train. By the time the racers reached the mountain's massive
glaciers all but six had succumbed to exhaustion or injury. The first racer
to reach the summit was N.B. Randall, of Glacier, using the Glacier Trail
route. Harvey Haggard was a close second, while Joe Galbraith was the first
to reach the judges by way of the Deming Trail.
Harvey Haggard was the first man back to Glacier via the Glacier Trail route
and was, according to the rules of the contest, entitled to take the train
back to Bellingham leaving the rest of the field behind. Unfortunately for
Haggard the train was soon derailed by a bull standing on the tracks. While
Haggard rounded up alternate means of transportation Joe Galbraith made good
time down the Deming Trail route. From Heisler's Ranch, Galbraith was transported
in "Betsy," a stripped down Model T driven by Hugh Diehl, back to Bellingham
(see photo above). Joe Galbraith reached the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce
in a time of 12 hours and 28 minutes to win the grand prize of $100 and a
buffalo robe. Harvey Haggard arrived 32 minutes later. Turner Riddle finished
third.
The Mount Baker Marathon was deemed a promotional success and continued for
two more years. In the second marathon Johnny Magnusson lost 11 pounds in
his 11 hour racing effort. Some racers were so spent that they had to be tied
to their seats in waiting cars so as not to fall out on the ride back. In
1913 Victor Galbraith, Joe Galbraith's cousin, survived a 40 foot fall into
a crevasse while racing. Miraculously, he incurred no broken bones, but race
organizers began to question the wisdom of an event which required exhausted
men to negotiate their way over glaciers in the dark. Weather was also a determining
factor in the marathon's demise. In the end it was decided that the risks
involved in a race of this nature outweighed the benefits. The race of 1913
marked the end of the major marathons.
In 1972 a new marathon was born. This greatly scaled down version required
participants to start the race at the Mount Baker ski area and end it on the
waters of Bellingham Bay. The "Ski to Sea" race utilized relay teams that
involved cross country and downhill skiers, runners, cyclists, canoeists,
kayakers and sailors. The Ski to Sea race has been a well attended yearly
event since 1972. It continues to attract hundreds of teams, a number of international
entrants, and thousands of spectators.
Officials
were were posted along the route and judges were positioned at the summit
of the mountain to certify that each racer made it to the top. At the starting
gun, on August 10, 1911, fourteen men charged out of Bellingham, six by automobile
and eight by train. By the time the racers reached the mountain's massive
glaciers all but six had succumbed to exhaustion or injury. The first racer
to reach the summit was N.B. Randall, of Glacier, using the Glacier Trail
route. Harvey Haggard was a close second, while Joe Galbraith was the first
to reach the judges by way of the Deming Trail.