High Country Running: Hopi runner Nicholas Qömawunu and the 1928 Route 66 Bunion Derby

When Ann-Mary Lutzick, Winslow’s Old Trails Museum director, invited me to speak about the 1928 Bunion Derby as part of its Route 66 centennial celebrations on March 21, I jumped at the chance. I was especially excited to present at the historic Hubbell Trading Post, where its original owner, John Lorenzo Hubbell Jr., had sponsored Hopi runner Nicholas Qömawunu for the grueling 3,422-mile, 84-day stage race promoting the recently established Route 66.

While many readers may be familiar with 1908 and 1912 Hopi Olympian Louis Tewanima, far fewer have likely heard of Qömawunu, a hopeful for the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics.