The Cellar - Jan 15th, 2020 : Pedestrianism

At the end of the 19th century when the automobile was a novelty of the rich ~~man~~ person, and bicycles were
as common as fleas on a ~~dog~~ cat, the six day bicycle race became huge events. Big crowds of spectators, big
rewards for winners, and big bets on outcomes. Often national pride was on the line.
I wasn’t aware the bicycle craze followed a pattern of Pedestrianism which preceded it.

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Today, when we think of pedestrianism - if we think of it at all - we picture the strange gait of Olympic race walkers, or perhaps ultramarathon events such as the Marathon des Sables (a 250 kilometre six day race over the sands of the Sahara). Athletes we could barely name in races we rarely hear of. But, for a time in the second half of nineteenth century, on both sides of the Atlantic, pedestrians were the stars of their day, attracting thousands of spectators whenever they raced.

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It seems there were three types of races, first where the fastest time for a set distance won. The second
where the most distance in a set time period was the winner, the third, like the first, the winner was the
fastest time for a set distance but also a limit on the maximum time allowed. It appears they weren’t
free-for-alls, at the top level anyway, but more like an invitational were you had to prove some prowess
in the minors before getting a shot at the big leagues.

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This proves once again Americans will watch, and bet on, anything they think their neighbors are watching
or even suspect they want to watch.
Don’t risk becoming a social pariah by not watching Milton Berle, Saturday Night Live, or The Game of Thrones.

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