110: Six-day Race Part 16: Women’s International Six-Day (1879)

Many women participated in six-day races during the 1800s. With the great publicity of the Astley Belt Six-Day races, and the popularity of the new go-as-you-please format inviting running, the six-day race exploded into a craze in America and Great Britain. Of the 850 total starters in 85 six-day races in 1879, more than 120 starters were women. The details of the 17 women’s races held that year were fascinating, full of surprising drama, and needs to be remembered in this history, especially given the strong discriminating feelings toward women athletics in that era and for the century that followed.