"INCREDIBLE feats of endurance, skulduggery and romance. These are just some
of the topics covered in Paul Marshall's fascinating book,
King of the Peds"...
Northumberland Gazette (UK)
BATTLE RAGES ON FOR
KING OF PEDESTRIANISM
BOOK SHEDS LIGHT ON EARLY EAST END HEROES
East London Advertiser (UK) -
(Printed newspaper article - here)



























Name a world sporting legend... Tiger Woods?
Lewis Hamilton?
Roger Federer?
David Beckham?
Henry "Blower" Brown? Henry who?...
Hammersmith and Fulham News, London, England  (UK)
It will be highly informative to anyone interested in in one of the more bizarre corners of sporting history...
Race Walking Record (UK)...
Article — HERE
"Will delight athletic enthusiasts who have a strong interest in this ‘lost’ section of the sport"...
Newcastle Evening Chronicle (UK)
"You may remember how you welcomed the New Year of 2009. 
I celebrated by reading
King of the Peds until 3:00 A.M..."
Walkapedia (USA)
'When peds walked
the earth...'
THE INDEPENDENT (UK)
It is one of the most detailed and best-researched idiosyncratic sports books you are likely to read...
THE HERALD (Scotland, UK)
1st Astley International Belt race action
at the "Aggie", Islington, London, March, 1878.
Left: Daniel O'Leary (Chicago, USA) Middle: "Blower" Brown (Fulham, England)
Right: Henry Vaughan (Chester, England)

George Littlewood



aka the "Sheffield Flyer"
of England, STILL holds the
6-day ultra-endurance
WALKING
world record made in
Sheffield, UK,
6-11 March, 1882.

2013 was the 125th
Anniversary of 
"Littlewood the Lionheart's"
6-day ultra-endurance
RUNNING
world record made at
Madison Square Garden,
New York, USA,
in Nov/Dec, 1888.

It wasn't beaten for 96 years!

    

Charlie Rowell



— one of the
main contenders for the title of
King of the Peds.

Running 150 miles in a day
wasn't a problem for the
"Cambridge Wonder".

He STILL holds the world record
for advancing the furthest ever
recorded distance for
6 days (12 hours per day)
at the Royal Aquarium,
Westminster, London,
in April/May of 1885.

Apart from winning many trophies
in his career, Rowell would secure incredible prize money amounting to what is equivalent to
one million dollars today
for winning two races in 1879.

Read Charlie's story in
King of the Peds
Endorsed by
William Sichel (Scotland)
— modern CHAMPION international
ultra-distance runner, who comments: 
"I have certainly been inspired by your book."
William Edwards
AUSTRALIA
P.S. Marshall's fascinating historical account of the hugely popular 19th century sport and the professional pedestrians, or 'peds', who made it the then 'must-see' spectator event. It will appeal to anyone interested in the history of sport and those intrigued by stranger-than-fiction stories...
THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE AND TIMES OF
EDWARD PAYSON WESTON
THE WORLD'S GREATEST WALKER
What the authors' say about Weston...
A MAN IN A HURRY
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Frank Hart
aka
'BLACK DAN'
was
Daniel O'Leary's
protégé and a worthy
contender for the title of
King of the Peds.

P.S. Marshall, the author of
King of the Peds
is currently working
on this pioneering
black sporting superstars
career biography.

This incredible athlete made
a real impression on the American sporting scene,
when he won the
2nd O'Leary Belt
with a new world record
of 565 miles, in 1880.

Read Frank's story in
King of the Peds

Boston Globe article...
Joe Scott
NEW ZEALAND
Napoleon Campana
USA
Sir John Astley MP

— creator of the
Astley Belt
races

BBC feature
George D. Cameron SCOTLAND
Read George's story in
King of the Peds
Surprising history of indoor athletics...
THE HERALD (Scotland, UK)
George Hazael (England),
leads Hiram Jackson (USA),
George Guyon (USA)
and Frank Hart (Haiti),
during the 5th Astley Belt
at Madison Square Garden,
<<<New York, Sept., 1879>>>
George Cartwright (the"Walsall Flyer"),
gets assaulted by a spectator during the
2nd Astley Challenge Belt (1882) held
at the Bingley Hall, Birmingham, England.

It's possible that the attacker had wagered on an opponent of Cartwright during the race as there
was a lot of off-course and track-side betting on
these  highly popular events with bookmakers
shouting the odds during races. Contestants were therefore susceptible to attacks whilst competing around the track from disgruntled punters.



EDWARD PAYSON WESTON
The Great Man's
SPECTACULAR Career Biography by P.S. MARSHALL
“WESTON, WESTON, RAH-RAH-RAH!”
THE ORIGINAL SPORTING SUPERSTAR!
CNN — 'Great Big Story'
Press release/review copies click HERE
    5th International Astley Belt — First Day...
at the "Mecca" of Pedestrianism,
Madison Square Garden, New York, USA,
22 September, 1879
International Walking Match
O'Leary Belt, Chicago, USA,
29 May, 1879.
The start from left to right: Guyon; Crossland;
Goodman; Parry; Banks; Geraghty
3rd Astley Belt,  New York, 1879
Rowell, Harriman and Ennis
Usage of images on other websites?
Link...With kind permission of:
www.kingofthepeds.com
Roadside sign celebrating the life of Daniel O'Leary
  Click HERE to get a FREE
pdf copy...
The password for the
CONTENTS pdf
is 123456





 
Featuring... JOSIAH EATON, ROBERT SKIPPER,
JOHN TOWNSEND & GEORGE WILSON

RICHARD
MANKS
& the
PEDESTRIANS
'Pedestrianism Extraordinaire!'
...Mind-boggling feats of endurance...
EDWARD PAYSON WESTON... In the NEWS...
BBC                      GRANTLAND
Berkshire Eagle   Daily Express (DE print)    Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
International Business Times    Irish Independent   LA REPUBBLICA (Italy)   Times Picayune 
  Minneapolis Post     OnMilwaukee    Walkers Almanac... (Listen)...
RM in the DAILY EXPRESS 
Book Review by Peter Lovesey
And here is a
book about the female equivalent
to their male counterparts... 

The Pedestriennes
by
Harry Hall