A short history of running

About this episode

Carl Morris discusses the origins of running as a sport and the rise of marathons in modern times.

Why do people run marathons in their thousands these days? Carl Morris, in conversation with Dave Musgrove, traces the origins of running as a sport back to the heyday of 19th-century pedestrianism. These Victorian competitors were superstars of their day and performed in front of huge crowds – and from that starting line, we can chart the growth of the modern passion for marathons. ----- GO BEYOND THE PODCAST To find out more about the strange story of long-distance wheelbarrow pedestrianism, check out the HistoryExtra podcast series The Tiger Tamer who Went to Sea: https://bit.ly/4db4D6L Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Dave Musgrove

Guest: Carl Morris

Topics covered

• history of running
• marathons
• 19th-century pedestrianism
• Victorian sports
• long-distance running

Keywords

• running
• marathons
• pedestrianism
• Victorian era
• sports history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: HistoryExtra

Books & works: The Tiger Tamer who Went to Sea

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