Today is National Take A Hike Day, encouraging enthusiasts and beginners alike to get out on a trail or two.
After all, there are thousands of miles to explore.
A century or two ago, there weren’t quite as many walking trails as there are today.
But some people decided to get out and walk just the same, sometimes for really long distances.
And in those days, a really long walk was sometimes enough to draw a big crowd.
This is the world of pedestrianism; it’s similar to race-walking today, with walkers trying to beat each other to a finish line.
Some races could last days; you could have six days of walking, where you couldn’t leave the track except for a little tent where you can eat, sleep or… take care of your business.
And in the 19th Century, before the rise of the sports that we know and follow today, it was a huge hit.
You could draw 10,000 paying spectators to an arena to see a bunch of people walk around in a loop for days (the spectators would not usually stay the whole time).
That may not sound like a thrilling way to spend an afternoon, but this was a cheap and relatable form of entertainment at a time when more and more people were moving to cities and taking jobs in factories.
In time, some of these pedestrians became celebrities.
There was Edward Payson Weston, who had promised to walk from Boston to Washington DC in 10 days if Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 election.
Weston’s rival, Chicagoan Dan O’Leary, was a big hit with Irish-Americans, while African-American great Frank Hall had entered a six-day race kind of just for the heck of it and ended up being an elite competitor.
There were women pedestrians as well, like Ada Anderson of England.
She and others walked great distances for days at a time like the men did, though in some cases spectators threw glass and tacks in their paths.
Which brings us to another big reason why these walkers were so popular: people could, and very often did, bet on who might win a race, or who might collapse from exhaustion along the way.
And there were plenty of times that these bettors, shall we say, tried to pave the way toward a certain outcome.
Pedestrianism even had performance-enhancing chemicals; Weston once got a doctor’s prescription to take coca leaves, like the ones used to make cocaine, before competitions.
All of this gave the sport an unsavory reputation; eventually crowds started watching less objectionable competitions, like bike racing, baseball, football and the like.
Or in some cases, the people in those crowds went out for walks themselves.
Even if the sport had its negative side, a lot of people realized that getting out for a walk can feel really good.
Well, at least a walk that isn’t six days long.
Today is National Homemade Bread Day.
Back in 1952, the sitcom “I Love Lucy” had an episode where Lucy and her friend Ethel accidentally baked a loaf of bread that was eight feet long and kind of attacked them.
A real bakery in LA made the bread for the show, and after the taping, the show served the giant bread to the cast, crew and audience.
The strange 19th-Century sport that was cooler than football (BBC)
How Competitive Walking Captivated Georgian Britain (Atlas Obscura)
I Love Lucy The Complete Picture History of the Most Popular TV Show Ever, Authorized by the Lucille Ball Estate by Michael McClay (via Google Books)
Walk on over to our Patreon page and back this show
Image via Wikicommons
