Marge Hickman
Marge Hickman can’t sit still. If she’s not running, she’s hiking, driving around the country in her RV, or engaging in another form of movement. Since she was a kid, the ultra running phenom has always felt an insatiable drive to prove herself. And that drive has taken her places few in the running community have dared to go.
In 1989, Hickman completed the grand slam of ultra running, meaning she finished four of the oldest 100-mile races in a span of 10 weeks. She is one of only 59 women who have accomplished the feat since it was established in 1986. She also completed the Leadville Trail 100 a total of 14 times (within the time limit), the most by any woman at the event. Now, at almost 75 years old, Hickman still competes regularly as an enduring pioneer in the sport.
Hickman grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the middle child with an older sister and younger brother. Looking back on her childhood, Hickman said she always felt like she wasn’t good enough in her family’s eyes, but that never stopped her from pursuing her interests. “Even at the height of my [running] career, my mother thought I was crazy to be doing this,” Hickman said. “She said, ‘You’re going to kill yourself.’”
Always a bit of a rebel, Hickman’s last-minute move across the country ultimately kicked off a storied athletic career. As a young adult, Hickman worked at a bank in Pittsburgh. When a friend suggested she move to Denver with him, she agreed to visit. Right away, Hickman fell in love with the city surrounded by breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains. Within two weeks, she quit her job in Pittsburgh and moved to Colorado.
Hickman was introduced to racquetball after she joined a local athletic club. Every day, she’d get up at 6 a.m. to play before work at a savings and loans bank. She’d also return to the club after work for another round of play. She quickly climbed the ranks, ultimately becoming an “A” player in skill level. Once she reached elite status, Hickman decided she wanted to find a new sport.
In 1978, some friends at the athletic club suggested they run a 10K. Together, they raced Bay to Breakers in San Francisco, a historic road race made famous by runners dressing up in costume while running from downtown to the beach. “It was a big party with so many people. It was incredible,” Hickman said. “When I came back to Denver, I was hooked.”
That fall, Hickman ran her first 26.2 at the Denver Marathon. To her surprise, she finished third in 3:12. For the next few years, she focused on road racing. When she needed a new pair of running shoes, she visited a local store, where she met ultra runner Jim Butera. He worked as a salesman at the time and encouraged her to join his trail running group. “He turned me on that I could do more and go further than I thought I could,” Hickman said.
Around the same time, Butera was devising a new trail race in the area. As Hickman recalled, he wanted runners to cover 100 miles in the Colorado mountains, but he was having trouble mapping out a course in the right location. He ultimately landed on Leadville, a town that sits at an elevation of 10,119 feet. In August 1983, the first-ever Leadville Trail 100 brought a handful of brave runners through high elevation and brutal terrain across the Rocky Mountains. As
Butera’s friend, Hickman volunteered to help athletes at aid stations. She recalled watching 10 people finish in the first year.
In 1984, Hickman sought to achieve the Olympic Trials standard in the marathon, so she could compete in the first-ever national championship for women in the event. Her attempt took place at a marathon in Virginia Beach. She was on pace until Mile 20, when runners hit a strong headwind on the course. Though she received pacing support from male runners in the field, Hickman missed the qualifying time by four minutes, running 2:56.
“I was crushed. I cried,” Hickman said. “Anyway, I pulled myself up by the bootstrings and flew back to Denver. Jim, with his encouragement, was inspiring and putting on more races. He said, ‘Marge, why don’t you come do a 24-hour track race I’m doing in downtown Denver at Auraria campus track?’”
In her first ultra-running event, Hickman won the women’s race, covering 110.5 miles in 24 hours around the track. She was fourth overall. Aside from walking for one hour between 3-4 a.m., Hickman ran the entire time, an effort that helped build back her confidence.
Afterwards, Butera suggested Hickman run Leadville that summer. At first, she turned down the idea, but Butera was unrelenting. “I can still remember, he said to me, ‘Just try it,’” Hickman said.
To train for Leadville, Hickman ran five consecutive marathons in Colorado starting in June. While balancing her full-time job at the bank, she scheduled training sessions before work, during her lunch break, and after she clocked out. It all paid off in August 1984, when Hickman competed in her first of many Leadville 100 trail races.
That year, Hickman hoped to be the first woman to complete the event, but a face-plant on tree roots and a twisted ankle in the first 13 miles hindered her performance. Teri Gerber, who went on to win the 1985 Western States Endurance Run, was the first-ever female finisher at Leadville, clocking in at 28:17:41. Despite the injuries, Hickman still managed to complete the race and become the second female finisher in 29:13:13. The experience only fueled her desire to claim the crown.
In 1985, Hickman returned with a vengeance. She crushed the competition by blazing through the 100-mile course in 26:57:50. She finished 11th overall, almost three hours ahead of the closest female finisher.
For nearly two decades, Hickman became a legendary figure at the Leadville Trail 100. Despite a string of injuries, including surgery on both shoulders, a shattered wrist, and plantar fasciitis, among other setbacks, she finished the race 14 times in 16 attempts with only two performances being over the time limit. She even married her husband, Michael, on Hope Pass, the first of two major climbs on the Leadville course, wearing white shorts and a veil.
Though Hickman has fond memories of the early iterations of Leadville 100, her relationship with the race is also complicated. When Butera started a new job and moved to California, Hickman felt the event’s current race directors failed to acknowledge Butera as the founder and former race director. Butera is not mentioned in the history of the race on the Leadville Trail 100 website, and race organizers did not respond to a request for comment from Starting Line 1928.
In an effort to document Butera’s work and the legacy of the event, Hickman and coauthor Steve Siguaw wrote Leadville Trail 100: History of the Leadville Trail 100 Mile Running Race. Published in 2019, the book shares stories from past champions and the race’s origins. That same year, Leadville race organizers banned Hickman from the event. After they received pressure from the ultra running community, she was reinstated in 2021.
In addition to her incredible streak at Leadville, Hickman continued to take on ultra-running challenges around the world, including the grand slam of ultra running. In 1989, she completed the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, Vermont 100-Mile Endurance Run, Leadville Trail 100-Mile Run, and Wasatch Front 100-Mile Endurance Run all in under 36 hours.
At the time of her conversation with Starting Line 1928, she was living in an RV with her husband and running 50 miles a week while camp posting (verifying campsite tickets for those staying on the grounds) in Death Valley National Park. She plans to race a 50K with girlfriends in Oregon this spring.
Looking back on her ultra-running career and thinking about advice she would share with the next generation of women in the sport, Hickman went back to the drive that’s carried her all these years.
“You’re better than you think you are, and you can do more than you think you can,” she said. “You have to believe it within yourself.
Note about the author: Taylor Dutch is a freelance writer, editor, and producer living in Chicago; a former NCAA track athlete, Taylor specializes in health, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in SELF, Runner’s World, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
