Ted Epstein Jr. Ultra Endurance Athlete Amazing Accomplishments
As an Ultra-Endurance athlete, he had completed three Six-Day races, ran 480 miles across Siberia, climbed the Pikes Peak Ascent eight times, swam around Manhattan Island, swam half way around Hong Kong Island, with another man was the first man to swim across the Bering Strait, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, climbed Mt. Vinson, the tallest mountain in the Antarctic, was the first person in the world to complete the Grand Slam of Triathlons: Double, Triple, Quadruple and Quintuple in a one year period, and completed Mexico’s Deca-Ten Ironman, which involved swimming 24 miles, biking 1,120 miles, running 10 marathons, equal to 252 miles…
TED EPSTEIN, JR.’S YEARLY SPORT ACCOMPLISHMENTS and more 1979-2006
1979
October – Denver Marathon
1980
May – Denver Marathon
October – Denver Marathon; hospitalized for de-hydration
1981
May – Denver Marathon-ended with Ted hospitalized with an IV for dehydration
July – Cheyenne Wyoming Marathon
October – 50 miles Chicago
October – Denver Marathon
1982
February – Las Vegas Marathon
April – Boston Marathon
May – Denver Marathon
May – 50 miles, Laramie to Cheyenne
October – 62 ½ miles Chicago
December – 96.4 miles Denver-24 hours; Ted one of 4 finishers of 12
1983
May – Alferd Packer 50 mile race
May – Denver Marathon, Ted wore his tuxedo
June – New York Shea Stadium 24 Hour Run, developed frostbite
August – 50 miles Leadville; Ted did not complete the 100 miles in cut-of time
September – 100 miles, Bowl of Tears, 24 Hour Run, Denver
1984
March – Alferd Packer 50 mile Race, Denver
April – San Diego 6-Day Race
May – Denver Marathon
August – Leadville 100, 100 mile Colorado race under 30 hours
Sept – Bowl of Tears 24-Hour Run, Denver
Dec-Jan – Rocky Mountain 6-Day Race, Boulder, Colorado 300+ miles
1985
March – Alferd Packer 50 mile race, Denver
June – Manhattan Island Swim, 20 miles
August – European International Ironman Triathlon, The Netherlands
Freedom Run for Ethiopian Jews, Denver, Colorado 100+ miles
October – Rawhide Marathon, Ft. Collins, Colorado
November – Woodland Park Run, near Colorado Springs, CO
December – 3-Day Run, CA
1986
Climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa
1987
May – Ted’s First One Man Sculpture Exhibit
October 1-7 – Six-Day Run La Rochelle, France
November – Climbed Mt. Vinson in the Antarctic
1988
April 25 – Cross Colorado Herman Sheldon Memorial Run
May 8 – Westin Stamford Hotel Singapore Vertical Marathon, 10 min. 58 floors
May 17 – Hong Kong Island-swam-half way around island, 12 ½ miles
August – Leadville 100
Aug-Sept – PAC tour, last six days immediately after Leadville 100
1989
January – Ted’s sculpture exhibition at Cableland, Denver
April – Triple Ironman, Le Fontanil, France left due to death of son Teddy III
July – Ran 480 miles across Siberia in 12 days, Winner, only finisher
September – Double Ironman Triathlon, Huntsville, Alabama
October 1-20 – PAC Tour, biked 2,700 miles across the U.S.A.
1990
April – Ran Grand Canyon, in one day, South to North rim, down & up
May – Triple Ironman, Le Fontanil, France
July – 30 mile swim across Siberia’s Lake Baikal
September – Double Ironman Triathlon, Huntsville, Alabama
October 27 – RAAM Open West bike race, Death Valley, CA 508 miles, 44 hours
1991
February – 2-Day Race benefiting Emily Griffith Opportunity School, Denver, CO
April – Ran Grand Canyon, in one day South to North rim, down & up
May – Triple Ironman Triathlon, Le Fontanil, France
June – Quadruple Ironman Traithlon, Hungary
September – Double Ironman Triathlon, Huntsville, Alabama
October – Quintuple Ironman Triathlon, The Netherlands 109.16 hours, 8th place
FIRST PERSON IN THE WORLD TO COMPLETE THE GRAND SLAM OF TRIATHLONS, DOUBLE, TRIPLE, QUADRUPLE AND QUINTUPLE IROMAN TRIATHLONS, ALL IN ONE YEAR PERIOD..ALL WITHIN SIX MONTHS with herniated disc surgery between events…
1992
April – Inducted into the Senior Athletes Hall of Fame, Bradenton, FL Age 55
April 24,25 – Biked 583 miles non-stop Tour of North Texas, 51 hours,35 min,7th place
Biked 304 miles non-stop Cross Colorado
North to South record 22 ½ hours
September – Double Ironman, Huntsville, TN, Ted overheated, IV, dropped out
Nov 7-25 – Deca Ten Ironman Triathlon, Monterrey, Mexico
swam 24 miles, biked 1,120 miles, ran 10 marathons, 252 miles
Dec – Inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame as the
Amateur Athlete of the Year, 1992
1993
Tour of North Texas, 51 hours, 44 minutes, 4th place
Collegiate Peaks 50 mile run, Buena Vista, Colorado
July 19 – Swam across Bering Strait, from Russia to Alaska
First men in the world to do this: Joe Oakes and Ted Epstein, Jr.
October 16 – New Colorado Bike Record, Border to Border, New Mexico,
Colorado, Wyoming, 310 miles, 223 hours, 7 minutes
Kops N Kids Benefit Run
1994
May 26-April 9 – Deca Ironman Traithlon, Monterrey, Mexico
July 29 – RAAM, Race Across America, bike hit truck tire in road, 5 broken ribs
.
1995
April – ECO-Challenge, practiced for this; did not participate
May – Arthroscopic knee surgery
1996
April – The Boston Marathon
June – Steamboat Springs, Marathon, Colorado
August – Pikes Peak Ascent
October – Marine Corps Marathon, Washington, D.C.
Las Vegas Marathon, Nevada
1997
Hyalgan shots in Ted’s knees, Zinaxin and Arthred G. Powder
London Marathon
Portland Marathon, Oregon
August – Pikes Peak Ascent, Colorado
Las Vegas Marathon
1997
July – STP, Seattle to Portland Bike Race
August – Pikes Peak Ascent, Colorado
New York Marathon
1999
STP, Seattle to Portland Bike Race
1999 Broadway, Vertical Marathon, 1st Place men 50+
1999 Broadway, Vertical Marathon, 2nd Place men 50+
August – Pikes Peak Ascent, Colorado
2000
August – Pikes Peak Ascent, Colorado
2001
August – Pikes Peak Ascent, Colorado
100 Mile Century Bike Race, Colorado
2002
January 30 – Ted carried the Olympic Torch up the steps of the Colorado Capitol
November – Rim Rock 37.5 K Race, Grand Junction, Colorado
2003
August – Pikes Peak Ascent, Colorado
2004
Collegiate Peaks 50 mile race, Buena Vista, Colorado
2005
Half Marathon for Make A Wish Foundation
August – Pikes Peak Ascent
Las Vegas Marathon
2006
Sept 24 – Boulder Backroads, Half Marathon, Colorado
November – Chatfield 10 mile race, Colorado 3rd place Men 70-74
Every week-end for 20 years, Ted and his running friends, completed an unofficial marathon within Metropolitan Denver. He completed the Stockholm, Sweden Marathon and several more Rim Rock Races in Grand Junction, however, no exact records of such are found.
Many life-long friendships developed.
Ted and David Savitz.
Remembering Ted Epstein (1935-2016)…
Denver native and East High graduate, Ted Epstein, Jr., received his J.D. from the University of Denver Law School. He practiced law for thirty years, was a successful artist in bronze, and was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, the United States Senior Athletes Hall of Fame and the East High Athletic Hall of Fame.
Ted was a true gentleman, kind, modest, positive, and a source of help and inspiration to many. He was a devoted family man, happily married to his wife, Vivian Sheldon Epstein, for almost 54 years.
