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Podcast: Ultrarunning History
Episode: 148: Ultramarathons on Christmas Day 1879
Description: By Davy Crockett
New Book, containing the early history of The Barkley Marathons
Watching sports on Christmas Day is enjoyed by millions of sporting fans. But it also is probably despised by even more of those sporting fans’ families who have other priorities on that special day. While today the events watched are primarily basketball and football, back 144 years ago in 1879, the most popular sport taking place in America on Christmas Day was ultra-distance running, called Pedestrianism. Why would thousands leave their festive holiday celebrations to go many miles by horse carriage to smoke-filled arenas to watch skinny guys walk an...