Mark:
We really do go back a long time and I'm very much honored and thrilled that you've remained a customer of mine this many years - thank you.

Todays "Mileage Runs" actually have two parents. In the mid-80s, a small number of members of these programs began the use of flying to add segments and other mileage accrual to their mileage balances. These "runs" actually were not flown by the member themselves. In the early days if these programs, there was not the current airline/airport security measures in place and this small number of members would actually recruit other people to fly under their name to earn more miles. It was somewhat common to see ads in newspapers for potential travelers to earn $25-$50 to fly under someone else's name - all with the idea of boosting that members mileage balance. Understand that during this point in time there were no 20-25,000 mile awards. Each award was 40-50,000 for just coach and almost all the miles earned were from actually flying unlike today when miles are made everywhere. Prior to this there were no incentives for members to accumulate miles toward the end of any year because in the early years there were no elite levels requiring any sort of mileage balances. True to Mark's words, the modern mileage run started in very late 1987 and all of 1988 with the advent of the infamous Eastern Airlines "Triple Miles" promotion which blossomed out to other airlines. With minimum mileage often being 1,000 miles, we encouraged at FREQUENT/InsideFlyer members to haunt the Oakland/SFO, Dallas/Harligen, Colorado Springs/Denver, LAX/Ontario, Tampa/Orlando, etc. markets to boost mileage balances. In the early 90s began a concentrated effort to use these extra flights as a way to re-qualify for elite status.

So yes, there is a history for this type of travel before FlyerTalk. However, FlyerTalk can be credited for popularizing the term as it is use today.

I hope this background helps.