Women Walkers & Runners: A Timeline

1168 - Fairground races in France's Baucaire Fair - Ref. Noel Tamini
1400s - Races in Verona and Ferrara, Italy - Ref. Noel Tamini
1667 - Reference to women's races in Samuel Pepys' Diary - Ref. John Goulstone
1739 (?) - A smock race for women in Long Island, with a Holland smock and a chintz gown for prizes - Ref. Charles Andrews, 1919
1761 - March. Four Welsh women walked from Westminster to Deptford Bridge and back in 1 hour and three-quarters - Ref. Spirit of the Times, Lord William Lennox, July 25, 1857
1765 - A young woman reportedly walked from Blencogo to within two miles of Newcastle in one day (72 miles) - Ref. Professor Peter Radford
1769 - Nan Francis ran one half-mile heat in three minutes - Ref. John Beresford [ed], The Diary of a Country Parson: Rev James Woodforde, Vol. 1, 1758-1781, London 1924, p. 90; Andy Milroy
1783 - October 5, death of Mary Wilkinson, aged 109, at Romald Kirk in the North of Yorkshire. When young she walked several times to London in less than four days, though the distance is 250 computed miles. When 90 years of age, she with a keg of gin and a sufficiency of provision buckled on her back, walked from Romald Kirk to London in five days and three hours - Ref. Spirit of the Times, Lord William Lennox, July 25, 1857
1795 - A 15-year-old girl ran a mile in 5 minutes 28 seconds - Ref. Sporting Magazine, 1801, Vol. 18, p. 247; Andy Milroy
1817 - Esther Crozier (Hester Crozar) walked 50 miles a day for 7 days; had engaged to do so for 20 days - Ref. Edinburgh Advertiser, November 7, 1817; Andy Milroy
1820s / 1850s - Women walker/entertainers noted in Annals of Sporting
1823 - Emma Matilda Freeman, age 8, walks 30 and 40-mile events
1823 - A young woman engaged to run 15 miles against a "lad" ran 8 miles in an hour at Westcraigs on the Edinburgh-Glasgow road (28 December 1823) - Ref. Andy Milroy
1825 - A young lady raced a gentleman around the Seyne at Brighton and beat him by "a considerable distance" - Ref. London Times, January 3, 1823. Annals of Sporting, 1923, Vol. III, n. 14, p. 134. The Every-Day Book, Vol. I, William Hone, London, 1826, p.629; Andy Milroy
1826 - A woman walked 50 miles in 8 hours and 30 minutes on April 4th, 1826 at Exeter - Ref. Annals of Sporting, 1826, Vol. IX, n. 53, p. 306; Andy Milroy
1826 / 1827 - Mary McMullen, age 60, does walks ranging from 20 miles to 92 miles
1829 - Two women with their eight children, winter walk from Montreal, Canada to Albany, New York, February 18 / March 18 - Ref. New York Times, February 20, 1899, p. 5, col. 2
1851 - Mary Callinack (Kelynack), 84 years of age, walks from Penzance to the Great Exhibition - Ref. London Times, September 24, 1851, p. 5, col. 2. There is a story that Queen Victoria called her the most famous woman in England
1851 - Mrs. C.C. Cushman of Saint Louis, nearly done in her engagement to walk 500 miles in 500 hours - Ref. Spirit of the Times, November 1, 1851, p. 438, col. 1; St. Louis Intelligencer, October 30, 1851. No note of her finish
1853 - American Kate Irvine has commenced a walk of 580 miles in consecutive hours. She was said to have walked 500 miles in consecutive hours at the same place, Aston Cross Grounds, Birmingham - Ref. New York Clipper, June 18, 1853, page number unknown, col. 4
1854 - Mrs. Dunn attempts to walk 1000 miles in 1000 hours - Ref. London Times, March 11, 1867, p. 12, col. b
1856 / 1858 - Female Pedestrians: Mrs. Mickey Free, Mrs. Bentley, Flora Temple, Highland Maid (2d), The Original Highland Maid. Several articles promoting events but with no results - Ref. New York Clipper
1856 - Mrs. Bentley astonished the folks of Chicago by walking for 40 hours. Article says she is sick and suffering in bed due to the walk - Ref. New York Clipper, p. 187, col.4
1857 - Mrs. J.R. Dalliston is matched to walk 600 miles in consecutive hours, in San Francisco, but no result has been sent - Ref. New York Clipper, February 1, 1857, p. 351, col. 3
1857 - Mrs. Bentley, a single mother with consumption, walks for 30 hours at Broadway Tabernacle in Manhattan. She completes the task, but the event is judged a financial failure - Ref. New York Clipper, May 9, 1857, p. 18, col. 4; New York Times, April 29, 1857, p. 5, col. 3
1857 - Mrs. M. Jackson walks 110 consecutive hours on the stage in Franklin Hall, Philadelphia - Ref. New York Clipper, November 14, 1857, p. 235, col. 3
1858 - Flora Temple accomplished the feat of walking fifty hours on the plank, without rest or sleep at Ware's Hall, Portland, Maine, March 5 - Ref. New York Clipper, March 13, 1858, p. 370, col. 4
1858 - July 1858 historic climb of Pikes Peak (August 5, 1858?) by Julia Archibald Homes thus becoming the first woman to scale a North American Fourteener? Mrs. Homes later went on to become a driving force in women's suffrage - Ref. Matt Carpenter, A Climbing Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners, Walter R. Borneman and Lyndon J. Lampert, p. 44
1858 - Mme. Eugenie LaFosse of France, Miss Lucy Reynolds of Liverpool, and Cherokee Ba-tu-uch-o-ua-ra agree to race in New Orleans' Jackson Square, for a set of jewelry - Ref. New Orleans Daily Picayune, January 9, 1858; Dale Somers
1864 - Mrs. Emma Sharp reportedly walks 1000 miles in 1000 hours at Quarry Gap, Laisterdyke, September 17 / October 29, 1864 - Ref. Sunday Times, May 11, 1969
1867 - New York Herald account of 100-mile race in Mexico between 8 women - Ref. London Times, March 11, 1867, p. 12, col. 2
1870 - May Chapman, a New Orleans native, dancer and 36 year old mother of 8 children vs. Emma Forestelle, a 24 year old circus contortionist from St. Louis. Forestelle reportedly walked in Cheyenne
1872 - Madame Domer walks one mile in 7:41 - Ref. Bell's Life, July 20, 1872
1875 - National Police Gazette editor William E. Harding defeats Mlle. Lola at Barnum's Hippodrome - Ref. New York Times, March 30, 1875, p. 7, col. 5
1876 - Bertha Von Hillern vs. May Marshall attracts crowds of thousands in Chicago and New York. Their New York walk is presented as a movement toward greater equality - Ref. New York Times, November 18, 1876. The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, July 12, 1876, p. 414; Ed Sears
1875 / 1878 - Traveling pedestriennes (e.g. Bertha Von Hillern, May Marshall, Carrie Ross, Bertha Von Berg, Madame Dupree, May Belle Sherman, Exilda La Chappelle)
1876 / 1877 - Bertha Von Hillern's walks used to argue against women's frailty in Woman's Journal, the premier feminist newspaper in America - Ref. Woman's Journal, December 23, 1876, p. 412; December 30, 1876, p. 421; January 7, 1877, p. 26-27
1876 - Bella St. Clair walks 1000 miles in 950 hours at North Woolrich Gardens - Ref. London Times, September 1, 1876, p. 3, col. 6
1878 - In New Orleans, Ellen Wickers walks 250 miles to Henry Schmehl's 400 miles (119 hours); In Cincinnati, Bertha Von Hillern walks 89 miles in 25 hours, 45 minutes - Ref. New York Clipper, March 16, 1878, p. 402, col. 6
1878 - In Sacramento, Miss Kate Lorence walks 100 miles in 27 hours 36 minutes 30 seconds - Ref. New York Clipper, March 23, 1878, p. 411, col. 1
1878 - Bertha von Hillern becomes a noteworthy painter - Ref. Dale Reed
1879 - Peak of women's pedestrianism - Ref. Hundreds or thousands of newspaper articles
1879 - Madame Anderson's walk of 2700 quarter miles in 2700 quarter hours in Brooklyn, New York, receives international news coverage (December 1878 / February 1879)
1880 / 1889 - Women's pedestrianism continues and declines, last known races in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. in 1889
1881 - M.me Dupree's reported walk of 492 miles has been found short, recalculated as 398 miles - Ref. National Police Gazette, December 3, 1881, p. 14, col. 2
1885 - Amy Howard, the greatest six-day woman walker, but now part of a song-and-dance team with her husband, dies in childbirth, October 4, 1885 - Ref. New York Clipper, October 31, 1885, p. 521
1890 / 1891 - Zoe Gayton (Zoreka Gaytoni Lopeazaro) reportedly walks across the United States with two male companions and her cocker spaniel Beauty
1896 - Melpomene (Stamata Revithi) runs the marathon distance in Athens
1896 - Zoe Gayton, age 41, walks from Salt Lake City to San Francisco
1896 - Mrs. H. Estby, age 38, and Miss Clara Estby (19 year old daughter) walk from Spokane, Washington, to Phillipsburg, New Jersey, for a $10,000 wager. Story tells of shootings and assaults. Mother intends to write a story on the interesting, sometimes dangerous, walk - Ref. New York Times, December 24, 1896
1903 - 2500 Parisian shopgirls participated in the la belle epoque, which took place on October 25, 1903. Jeanne Cheminel won the 12 kilometer contest in one hour, 10 minutes - Ref. Allen Guttmann
1910 - 2000-mile hike from Kansas City to New York City by Mrs D.H. Woolf and husband - Ref. New York Times, August 6, 1910, p. 7, col. 3; August 28, 1910, p. 6
1911 - Socialite Eleanora Sears walks for bets
1911 - Mrs. Humphries walking around the world, reaches London, with husband for $10,000 wager - Ref. New York Times, November 26, 1911
1912 - Sears walks 109 miles in less than 40 hours - Ref. San Francisco Chronicle, March 31, 1912, p. 33, col. 7
1912 - Mrs. David Beach, a vegetarian, walks from New York to Chicago, sponsored by New York Globe and Chicago News - Ref. New York Times, May 29, 1912, p. 1, col. 2
1918 - Marie-Luise Ledru runs the marathon in France
1920 - October 1920. Miss W. Green walks from Manchester to Blackpool at same time as the annual race. She took 12:32.35 - Ref. Andy Milroy
1921 - Jenny Dill reportedly walks across Canada with her husband Frank Dill, in 134 days, February 1 / June 14
1922 - September 30. K.J. Phillimore won a 5-mile walk at Eastcote in 1:15.22
1923 - Frances Hayward runs Comrades
Mid 1920s - Mile High Games at Arrowhead, California - Ref. Eric Cowe
1925 - Eleo Sears walks from Providence to Boston, 47 miles, in 10:30 - Ref. New York Times, April 24, 1928, p. 1
1926 - Violet Piercy runs the Polytechnic Harriers Marathon at Chiswick
1926 - Eleanora Sears and Elizabeth Ryan walk from Providence to Boston in 9:53. Friend of Jean Bassis, employed in the Attleboro factory, assert that she covered the distance in 9:26 on September 11 - Ref. New York Times, November 30, 1926, p. 3, col. 4
1927 - "Ma" Tyler, 69 years of age, reportedly walks 3500 miles with husband Jack Tyler, from Texas to Canada - Ref. New York Times, October 2, 1927, p. 18, col. 2
1927 - Lillian Alling reported to have walked 5000 miles form New York to Russia, across Bering Strait - Ref. Al Howie
1928 - Eleo Sears walks the 72 miles from Newport to Boston in 17 hours - Ref. New York Times, April 24, 1928, p. 1, col. 2-3
1928 - Olympic 800-meter run instituted and dropped after several finishers reportedly faint at the finish
1931 / 1933 - Geraldine Watson runs the Comrades
1936 - First Women Amateur Athletics Association Mile, England
1936 - Two women run the Pike's Peak 13-mile ascent - Ref. History of Women's Participation, Kuscsik, 1977, p. 863. "In an event held in connection with the opening of the Pikes Peak Highway as a free road on Sunday, June 28, 1936 twenty-five men and two women raced up Barr Trail to be officially timed for the 13 mile ascent of 7,547 feet. Lou Wille won in three hours 55 seconds and Agnes Nelleson reached the top in six hours and 42 minutes" (from the forward by Rudy Fahl in the book Foster Sons of Pikes Peak by John R. Rose published in 1968) - Ref. Matt Carpenter
1954 - Diane Leather is first sub-5 minute miler
1959 - 10-Mile race promoted by Daventry Weekly Express, England
1959 - Arlene Pieper runs Pike Peak Marathon in 9 hours, 16 minutes - Ref. History of Women's Participation, Kuscsik, 1977, p. 863. "Arlene Pieper ran to the top of the peak in the 1958 in 5:59 to beat the 1936 record but was not counted because one had to run up and down to finish the marathon. The 1959 race was quite the race. Although Mrs. Pieper won the up and down she was beaten to the top by almost 5 minutes by Katherine Heard, a 53-year old grandmother!!! Mrs. Pieper's 10-year old daughter, Kathy who got the attention of the crowd at the summit. She was going to only go part way up with her mom but ran to the top in 5h 44m 52s. A time that would have beat her mom's 1958 time, August 8, 1958 and August 7, 1959" - Ref. Matt Carpenter
1960 - Women's Olympic 800-meter run reinstated
1960 - Vegetarian Dr. Barbara Moore walks across Britain, 1000 miles in 23 days, then from San Francisco to New York in 85 days
1960 - Billy Butlin promotes a race across Britain. Wendy Lewis, 18, and Beryl Randle, 31, both receive 1000 pounds in prize money for walking the route in 17 days, 7.5 hours - Ref. Andy Milroy
1961 - Julia Chase runs unofficially in AAU road races, New England, United States
1963 - Lynn Carmen and Merry Lepper run the Western Hemisphere Marathon in Culver City, California. Merry finishes the race in 3:37 - Ref. History of Women's Participation, Kuscsik, 1977, p. 866
1963 - 21/22 June. Emmi Schar from Switzerland walked a 100km in 20h38 in the Biel race. This seems to have been the start of women's ultra distance in Europe. Biel featured women performers ever since - Ref. Andy Milroy
1964 - Millie Sampson runs 3:19 marathon in Aukland, New Zealand. Dale Grieg runs Isle of Wight Marathon unofficially
1966 / 1967 - Roberta Gibb Bingay runs the Boston marathon unofficially - Ref. History of Women's Participation, Kuscsik, 1977, p. 866-867
1966 - May. Maureen Holland runs the Comrades in 9 hours 30 minutes
1967 - Kathrine Switzer runs Boston Marathon with a number, and is thrown out of AAU - Ref. History of Women's Participation, Kuscsik, 1977, p. 867
1967 - May. 13 year old Maureen Wilton of Canada runs the fastest women's marathon in 3:15
1967 - Anni Pede-Erdkamp of West Germany runs marathon in 3:07 - Ref. History of Women's Participation, Kuscsik, 1977, p. 867
1967 - Anne Obrien, Ireland, sets 3 mile and 6 mile records - Ref. Andy Milroy
1969 - 1500 meter rankings: Czechoslavakia, Netherlands, USSR, East Germany, Great Britain, United States, Sweden, Bulgaria, Rumania, Poland, Ireland - Ref. Andy Milroy
1969 - April 12. Diane Dixey runs the New Brighton 50 miler in 9:00:20. She ran 35 miles the previous year in the race: 6:31:18 (April 6,1968) - Ref. Andy Milroy
1970 - October 31. Miki Gorman from the United States runs 21:04:00 for 100 miles indoors at Los Angeles. Later became a famous marathon runner - Ref. Andy Milroy
1970 - Natalie Cullimore runs the Rocklin, California 50-Miler
1971 - Beth Bonner is first sub-3 hour marathoner
1971 - August 27-28. Mavis Hutchison from South Africa ran 106 miles 736 yards in 24 hours on a track at Johannesburg - Ref. Andy Milroy
1972 - Dale Grieg runs London to Brighton unofficially
1973 - First advertised women's road race in Britain. First long-distance walking (LDWA) race open to women
1973 - September 29. Eileen Waters ran 7:05:31 for 50 miles on the track at Santa Monica - Ref. Andy Milroy
1974 - Women allowed in Road Runner's Club
1974 - First all-women's marathon in Waldniel, West Germany
1975 - Jacqueline Hanson runs first sub-2:40 marathon
1976 - First all-women's marathon in Feltham, England. Winner is Christine Reddy with British record: 2:50:55 - Ref. Andy Milroy
1976 - New York Academy of Sciences passes a resolution that women may run the marathon with little risk and that a women's Olympic marathon should be instituted - Ref. History of Women's Participation, Kuscsik, 1977, p. 873
1979 - June. 13 year old Elizabeth Onyambu runs 4:23.13 for 1500 metres. This information appeared in a thesis by a Rwandan at the Cologne Sports School (from a Reuter's report) - Ref. Andy Milroy
1980 - Avon all-women's marathon coincides with Moscow Olympics. Women allowed to run London to Brighton
1982 - First Osaka women's marathon
1983 - June 8/10. Annie van de Meer of the Netherlands competed successfully in the Paris-Colmar walking race. This was a later breakthrough performance
1984 - First women's Olympic marathon won by Joan Benoit
1984 - Kenyan women, Helen Kimaiyo and Esther Kiplagat, enter world rankings in 5k/10k - Ref. Andy Milroy
1985 - Hassania Darami, Morocco, selected to represent Africa in the World Cup 10k - Ref. Andy Milroy
1988 - Women's walking events added as Olympic demonstration event - Ref. Therese Iknoian
1989 - Tokyo all-women's marathon, first IAAF approved all-women's marathon
1991 - Sandra Barwick of New Zealand runs 1300 miles in 17 days, 22 hours, 47 minutes despite a pulled hamstring. She completes 500 miles in her first 6 days - Ref. Andy Milroy
1992 - Olympic walking becomes a medal event - Ref. Therese Iknoian

Credits

The author Dahn Shaulis thanks everyone for contributing to this list and invites the readers to send corrections and additions by e-mailing him at dahn(at)nevada.edu.