The world's greatest walker - There was a time in the Victorian era when long distance races were staged in front of paying crowds of tens of thousands of people. That was when "professional pedestrianism" was in its heyday. And the greatest walker of that heyday – certainly the most flamboyant – was an American called Edward Payson Weston.
King of Pedestrianism - George Littlewood, born 1859, was a phenomenal runner who is already being talked about as probably being the greatest ultra long-distance foot athlete the world has ever seen. He became a sporting superstar of his day travelling over to America on several occasions.
The Palio del drappo verde in Verona - When introducing his encounter with master Brunetto Latin in his "Divine Comedy" (Inferno, chapter XV, verses 121-124) the Italian poet Dante Alighieri mentions a running event. Here is a detailed research on the history of this Medieval event and its course.
Running poems from ancient Greece - Greek poets described and celebrated running. Greek poets show Greek runners as runners really are, sweaty and fallible and sometimes funny.
The Funeral Games of Anchises - The runners having been placed in proper order, the signal was given, and they darted forward like a tempest. Nisus led the way, Salius coming second, and Euryalus third, with the rest following close behind.
The first woman to ever run the Boston Marathon - Read about Bobbi Gibb and her historical participation in the 1966 "Boston Marathon" as an undercover marathoner. Discover how her passion for running brought to more and more women filtering in every year until in 1972 the organization finally recognized women as "official".
The first man to run 600 miles in 6 days - With his "bull dog face, short cropped hair and almost deformed stooped shoulders", George Hazael travelled all over the world in pursuit of prize money by competing against others in running races. In early 1882, Hazael did the unthinkable when he became the first man ever to make 600 miles in six consecutive days.
The Flying Scotsman - Once in a while in the world of sport, someone really special turns up. One such person was a professional Scottish pedestrian called George D. Cameron. In his formative years as an up-and-coming "pro", Cameron proved himself as a handy runner at shorter distances. But it wasn't till the early part of 1880 when his long-distance career really started to take off.
A bit dazed like - William "Corkey" Gentleman, was just one of many hardy athletes who entertained huge crowds at sporting venues worldwide by walking and running ultra long distances in pursuit of generous prize money and ornamental gold belts.
Black Dan - Very few people know about Frank Hart who became one of the most successful black athletes the sport has ever known. Frank's real name was Fred Hichborn, but as an aspiring young professional athlete at the time, he changed his name because it had more appeal.
