54: The 100-miler – Part 1 (1737-1875) Edward Payson Weston

The 100-miler! Running or walking 100 miles in one-go is an amazing accomplishment. Unfortunately, some people of today still mistakenly believe that the 100-miler was invented in 1974 when a man without his horse ran 100 miles. Contrary to the cunning marketing hype that has been proclaimed for decades, the history of the 100-miler ultra on all surfaces started long before that year. The sub-24-hour 100 miler was accomplished by hundreds of people before that famed journey in the California Sierra in 1974.



The “mile” measurement has roots back to Roman times. The statute mile, a British incarnation in 1593, became adopted in the United Kingdom and later also by the United States. It should not be too surprising that walking and running specifically the round number of 100 miles came out of Great Britain and America.



The concept of walking or running extreme distances has taken place for thousands of years in many cultures, motivated mostly to relay swift communication between settlements or armies. Historic stories have been found regarding distances that were further than 100 miles such as Philippides’ run from Athens to Sparta in 490 B.C., a distance of about 136 miles.



In more recent centuries, "running footmen" were used by aristocrats to deliver letters. In 1728 it was reported that Owen M’Mahon, an Irish running footman covered 112 mile in 21 hours running from Trllick to Dublin.  Attempts to walk 1,000 in competition started as early as 1759 in England.



But what about achieving the round-number distance of 100 miles?  When did the 100-mile quest begin and how did it evolve?