By Davy Crockett 

Both a podcast episode and a full article

Richard Manks

Can a person walk or run 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours, doing a mile in each and every hour for nearly 42 days? That was the strange question that surfaced in 1809 in England. In Part 1 of the 1000-milers I covered the attempts to reach 1,000 miles as fast possible. This part will cover what became known as the Barclay Match, walking a mile every hour, which was a feat of enduring sleep deprivation and altering sleep patterns dramatically. In a way, these matches were similar endurance activities to the bizarre walkathons of the 1930s that required participants to be on their feet every hour.

Critics of these 1,000-mile events called them "cruel exhibitions of self-torture" that had no point except to "win the empty applause of a thoughtless mob" and put a few pounds into the pockets of the walkers. They said, "there is nothing to learn from such exhibitions save they are positively injurious, physically and morally." But others thought the matches gave "convincing proof that man is scarcely acquainted with his own capacity and powers.”

These "1,000 miles in 1,000 hours" events captivated the world, were cheered in person by tens of thousands of people, were wagered with the equivalent of millions of today's value in dollars and launched the sport of pedestrianism into the public eye. It was first thought that this 1,000-mile feat was an impossibility, and it was called a “Herculean” effort. Betting was heavy and wagers were nearly always against success. But during a 100-year period, there were more than 200 attempts of this curious challenge and more than half were successes. How did this all begin?

Captain Robert Barclay

Robert Barclay Allardice, or "Captain Barclay," of Ury, Scotland, was born to a Scottish family in 1779. His father had been a member of Parliament and owned extensive estates. When young Barclay was fifteen years old, he won a 100 guineas wager, walking heal-toe six miles in one hour which at that time was considered a great accomplishment. When he was twenty years old, he covered 150 miles in two days, and in 1801, in very hot weather, he walked 300 miles in five days. Also, that year he walked/ran 110 miles in 19:27 in a muddy park. He became a very experienced walker who took on many wagers. He also was an officer in the army and thus called “Captain.”

In September 1808 Barley started to consider accepting a challenge to walk 1,000 miles in 1,000 consecutive hours for 1,000 guineas, a large fortune at that time. (Worth about $155,000 in 2019). For a farm laborer, a year’s wages were about 50 guineas.

Barclay first conducted a secret test at his estate in Scotland. One of his tenant farmers was able to walk one mile, every hour for eight days. Barclay decided to accept the 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours challenge.

Others had attempted this before, but no one went longer than 30 days. For example, in 1772 a tailor began a walk on a large wager to walk 1,000 mile in 1000 hours on “a spot of ground marked out for the purpose near Tyburn Turnpike” in London. It is believed that he was unsuccessful. A pedestrian named Jones sought to walk every hour for a month but quit in less than three weeks. Others were defeated by lack of sleep, swollen legs, and other various problems. A man from Gloucestershire rode a horse 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours, one mile in each hour, on Stinchcombe Hill in Dursley, England. “He won with ease.”

As word spread about this challenge, other 1000-mile ideas were spawned, including by George Wilson, who wanted to attempt walking 1,000 miles in less than half the time, in 20 hours. (See Part 1).

1,000 Miles in 1,000 Consecutive Hours

Months passed and Barclay’s challenge was put together to be performed on open land near Newmarket, England. A half mile course was laid out to be walked out and back in a straight line over smooth and even uncultivated land.