Fat Ass
informal ultramarathon running event
A Fat Ass or fatass is a type of informal ultramarathon running event which started in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. Typically organized as a low-key grassroots race that is 25 km (16 mi) or longer, the Fat Ass is usually free to enter.
Description
Fat Ass runs are usually community events and training races with no reward. These events have the unofficial slogan of "No Fees, No Awards, No Aid, No Wimps", meaning entry is usually free but amenities are limited. Some events require the donation of aid items to a communal station. Many people participate to see if they enjoy running ultramarathons before spending money on registering for an official event.
The idea of the Fat Ass came from Joe Oakes, a runner from the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1979, he started the "Recover from the Holidays Fat Ass 50" event. The name of the event is derived from participants wanting to reduce weight after the holiday season. Fat Ass runs are typically held in late autumn or early winter.
The public source identifies “Fat Ass” as informal ultramarathon running event. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around informal, ultramarathon and running.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Fat Ass”, the useful work is to connect “informal ultramarathon running event” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q131124900. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1979.
Official terminology may obscure informal participation, dissent or communities documented only indirectly. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Fat Ass” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.