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Podcast: Ultrarunning History
Episode: 37: Soldier Barnes – Six-day Race Relic (1846-1916)
Description: By Davy CrockettÂ
Old Soldier Barnes was a Civil War veteran from Pennsylvania who became a very popular professional ultrarunner in 1900 when he was in his early 50s. He must have not worn his age well, because people always thought he was much older than he really was. He entered the sport when the six-day race was making a comeback in Pennsylvania, about 20 years since its heyday in the 1800s when it was a huge spectator sport, watching walkers and runners go in circles for six days trying to travel as many miles as possible.
There was a brief resurgence of...