106: Six Day Race Part 12 – First Astley Belt (1878)

Ultrarunning History

By Davy Crockett You can read, listen, or watch By 1878, interest in ultrarunning/pedestrianism had taken a strong hold in Great Britain. The six-day race was viewed as a unique new branch of the running sport that fascinated many sporting enthusiasts. Like P.T. Barnum who was the first major promoter of ultrarunning in America, John Astley became the first prominent ultrarunning promoter in England. Astley’s significant involvement in 1878 helped to legitimize pedestrianism and he was the person who put “running” into "ultrarunning." He thankfully removed the walking restriction in the six-day race and established the first international championship race, later called “The First Astley Belt.” Please consider supporting ultrarunning history by signing up to contribute a little each month through Patreon. Visit https://www.patreon.com/ultrarunninghistory Sir John Astley Sir John Dugdale Astley (1828-1894) was a member of Parliament representing North Lincolnshire. He grew up in a wealthy family and was a lieutenant colonel in the Scots Fusilier Guards, serving in the 1854 Crimea War where he was wounded in the neck at the Battle of Alma. He was a great sportsman and while young, was an elite runner at the sprint distances. Astley was truly a “larger than life” character. “He was a big, burly, old man, fond of strong language and strong drink. Wherever he went he was made conspicuous by his large figure, white hair and beard, the enormous cigar, never out of his mouth, save when he was eating, drinking or sleeping, his strident voice and his frequent, boisterous laugh.” A friend said, “He must have smoked more miles of cigars than any man living.” William Gale Astley also had a passion for horses and boxing and wagered large sums of money. He lost a small fortune betting against O’Leary in the Edward Payson Weston vs. Daniel O’Leary II race of 1877 (see episode 105). Astley introduced the first belt (not belt buckle), into ultrarunning when he awarded William Gale a massive belt for accomplishing 4,000 quarter miles in 4,000 consecutive periods of ten minutes during October-November 1877 for 28 days. Championship belts had been introduced in boxing as early as 1810, and Asley brought the belt into the sport of pedestrianism. “Sir John Astley girded Gale’s waist with a belt of crimson velvet and massive silver. But the belt was too large, so amid much applause and some little merriment, it was slung across one of his shoulders.” Plans for the Long-Distance Championship for the Astley Belt On December 8, 1877, Astley announced that a six-day championship race would be held in the Agricultural Hall in London, open to all pedestrians in the world. A perpetual belt valued at £100 pounds would be awarded to the winner. The entrance fee was initially set at £10 (about $1,400 in today’s value). A telegram was sent to the recognized world champion, Daniel O’Leary in Chicago with an invitation. O’Leary quickly responded that he was interested. Go-As-You-Please Rules Introduced In January 1878, more detailed plans were announced for the historic event. The date was set for March 18th, with a prize package of £750. The field would be limited to twenty starters. But the most significant announcement was that the race would not be limited to heel-toe walking. The athletes could run if they wanted. It was called “Go-as-you-please.” This was a historic decision made by Astley to embrace running along with walking. The decision to open up the competition to running was made for two reasons. 1. Weston was constantly criticized that his walking style of wobbling was not always true “heel-toe” walking. Even O’Leary had also been accused of running at times in his matches. This put pressure on judges during events and caused anger among wagerers. 2. In recent decades, the British had been developing running, not walking, and were at a clear disadvantage to Weston’s and O’Leary’s skill at walk...