101: Six Day Race Part 8: First Women’s Race (1876)

Ultrarunning History

By Davy Crockett You can read, listen, or watch In early 1876 while Edward Payson Weston was taking on England in storm, embarrassing the British long-distance walkers and runners in the first six-day race in that country (see episode 99), the six-day race continued to be of growing interest in America, this time among women! Some in the press called these female wonders, “Pedestriennes.” Was America truly ready to accept that idea that women could walk or run for days, for hundreds of miles? Obviously, there were strong cultural beliefs during the era that it was improper for women to participate in distance walking and running. An editorial in the New York Times stated, “Today it is the walking match, soon the [women's vote] will come.” It isn’t surprising that once the women started to compete that New York City considered passing an ordinance banning “all public exhibitions of female pedestrianism.” Please consider supporting ultrarunning history by signing up to contribute a little each month through Patreon. Visit https://www.patreon.com/ultrarunninghistory Early Women Pedestrians Emma Sharp - Barclay walker from 1864 In 1876, female pedestrians were not entirely new. As early as 1844 in England, women started to attempt the Barclay Match, walking 1,000 miles in consecutive 1,000 hours, one mile each hour (see episode 18). Several British women were successful over the next thirty years. Often men wagering against their success would attempt to assault them to make them fail. In America, in 1868, Anne Fitzgibbons, “Madame Moore,” a clog dancer from England, exported women pedestrianism to America. She began putting on 50-mile walking exhibitions in upstate New York, wearing “male attire” during her walks, for which she was arrested. She went on to be the first known woman to walk 100 miles in less than 24 hours. There was speculation whether American women could be ultra-distance pedestrians. “American girls are generally poor walkers, and it will soon be a difficulty to find an American lady who can walk more than twenty minutes without complaining of fatigue. They pay too much attention to the shape and make of their boots for pedestrian performances.” A few isolated ultra-distances walks were performed by women during the early 1870s. In 1871, Lydia Nye walked 30 miles in eight hours over a rough, mountainous road near Bennington, Vermont. She received national attention in the newspapers. In 1874 a woman created quite a stir who had walked all the way from Kansas City, to Sacramento, California “in search of a truant husband.” She wouldn’t take rides offered or ride the railroad because of a fear of trains. “That husband will be the biggest fool of the two if he ever lets her catch him.” Other women soon started to make walks of huge distances, getting their names in the news. In 1875, M’lle Lola, a gymnast, and trapeze performer, walked 30 miles against a man in P.T. Barnum’s New York City Hippodrome (see episode 97) gaining intense fame. Time for a Women-only Six Day Race Chicago, Illinois seemed to be the right place for women pedestrians to race for six days for the first time and gain initial acceptance. Daniel O’Leary had energized the city with his historic six-day victory over Edward Payson Weston late in 1875 (see episode 98). Two daring women took the stage to be the first women in history to compete in a six-day race: Bertha Von Hillern and Mary Marshall. Bertha Von Hillern Bertha Von Hillern (1853-1939) was born in Stadtkreis Trier, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany on August 4, 1853. Her mother encouraged and trained her in activities of strength and endurance. She joined in with boys in walking contests and she would outlast them all. They would “gaze with mortified astonishment at the little figure, erect, quiet, moving silently and steadily on toward the goal.” It was reported, "She began to study the science of pedestrianism when but twelve ...