Reposted from Shuffle off to Buffalo | September 29, 2026
Long before marathons were a household word, a Seneca runner from right here in Western New York was breaking world records on foreign soil. Lewis Bennett, known across two continents as Deerfoot, was born around 1828 on the Cattaraugus Reservation and first turned heads by winning a five-mile race at the Chautauqua County Fair in 1856.
Between 1861 and 1863, Deerfoot toured England, Scotland, and Ireland, running roughly 130 races in just 87 weeks. He set world records of 51 minutes 26 seconds for ten miles and just over an hour for twelve miles, beating Britain’s best runners along the way, including the man they called the Gateshead Clipper.
Deerfoot returned home a legend and lived out his life on the Cattaraugus Reservation until his death on January 18, 1896. His name still stands for one of the greatest distance runners Western New York ever produced.
