ABSTRACT
These great running and walking contests originated in England, crossing over to America in the 1820s. While the British dominated, a field of international “peds” competed against time and one another for fat purses–sometimes for thousands of dollars. The distances they covered varied but were usually of a length and difficulty that tested the whole man. American pedestrianism came into its own in 1835 with a much-publicized event at the Union Race Course on Long Island. Promoter John Stevens offered a prize of $1,000 to any ped who could run ten miles in less than an hour, and an additional $300 if only one man did it. On April 22nd–a cold windswept day–an unbroken line of spectators marked the road between Brooklyn and the Union Course. Another 20,000 to 30,000 people packed the stands at the track. To the delight of those assembled, a Connecticut ped, Henry Stannard, outran the foreign entries to win the entire purse of $1,300. If Stannard's feat of running ten miles under 60 minutes does not seem that impressive, consider the wind stiff-armed him as he ran, the road was primitive, and scientific distance training was unheard of. But the best was yet to come.
