November 11, 1926. The country’s state highway officials meet to give America’s roads numbers, and a patchwork of dirt, gravel and wooden planks running from Chicago to Los Angeles becomes Route 66. Two years later, promoter C.C. Pyle sends 199 runners down it on a 3,422-mile race to New York, with a traveling carnival behind them. Among them are Andy Payne, a Cherokee farm kid trying to save his family’s land, and Eddie Gardner, a Black runner from Seattle heading into the Jim Crow South. How did a footrace nicknamed the “Bunion Derby” turn a road on a map into an American icon? Special thanks to our guests: Keith Austin, Historic Consultant for Cherokee Nation Business, and Chuck Kastner, author of Race Across America: Eddie Gardner and the Great Bunion Derbies. To stay updated on all things HISTORY This Week, sign up at historythisweekpodcast.com. Have thoughts or questions? Email us at [email protected]. Sign up for ad-free listening and bonus episodes at htwpod.com. Credits: Nichole Hill | Host Jon Lloyd | Sound Designer Ben Dickstein | Producer/EP Eli Lehrer | Executive Producer Liv Fidler | Executive Producer Get in touch: [email protected] Follow on Instagram: @historythisweekpodcast Follow on Facebook: ⁠HISTORY This Week Podcast⁠ To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-this-week/id1493453604 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2YFm0ezrXmMqLXbxgZpkmd?si=9a84fadee11447d4 Audacy: https://www.audacy.com/podcast/history-this-week-71b4d Subscribe for more HISTORY: http://histv.co/SubscribeHistoryYT Check out exclusive HISTORY content: History Newsletter - https://histv.co/newsletter Website - https://histv.co/History Facebook - https://histv.co/Facebook TikTok - http://bit.ly/4kZKjXi HISTORY® is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive, and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network’s all-original programming slate features a roster of hit series, premium documentaries, and scripted event programming.