Duathlon named for legendary abolitionist

There’s no evidence John Brown ever used, or had even heard of the cave that bears his name south of Iola.

The fiery abolitionist, whose armed insurrections were instrumental in Kansas’ entering the union as a free state in 1861, became infamous for his ill-fated raid upon Harper’s Ferry, one of the instigating factors of the Civil War.

As such, legends abound of Brown traipsing through eastern Kansas, leading legions of escaped slaves through the Underground Railroad, making full use of hiding spots along the way.