SIR J. D. ASTLEY’S WALKING TOUR NAMENT.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1360, 24 June 1878, Page 3

SIR J. D. ASTLEY’S WALKING TOUR NAMENT.

Of tips event the English sporting correspondent of the “ Australasian” writes aa follows :

Sir ,1. D. Astley’s great tournament at the Agricultural Hall t urned out a pecuniary success, and caused immense excitement The conditions were that the competitors were to make the best of their way oil foot (run or walk, that is) for six days ana nights, the man compassing the greatest distance at the time to be of course the winner. There were two tracks laid down in the hall —one for Englishmen and one for foreigners—and this was the most unfair part of the proceedings. 1 here cannot be a doubt that the sporting baronet meant well, but it is obvious that to have to be con-

stan'ly passing and repassing a number of other competitors is an immense handicap as against a man who has a track to himself, and can plml on all day quietly. Some of the interest in the contest was taken away by the fact that Weston, the American, -was too ill to compete. This left O’Leary, the Irish-American, the previous conqueror of Weston, the only occupant of the foreigners’ track. For the lirst two days the attendance at the hall wa< not large, but towards the end of the week, when it became known that O’Leary was leading, but that Vaughan, of Chester, was running him close, the excitement became very great, and thousands poured through the turnstiles at the great hall. At the end of the s“cond day O’Leary had done 200 miles, Corkey 190, Brown ISB, and Vaughan 185, and from this to the end O’Leary was never headed, but rather increased bis lead, ultimately winning by 20 miles. Vaughan rapidly passed all the others, and for the last thirty-six hours the race became a match between Chester and Chicago, but poor Vaughan, although ho struggled gamely, and often ran a mile at a time, whilst O’Leary stuck to the walking, could not reduce the gap. and so, as mentioned above, he lost by 20 miles, the totals on Saturday night, at eight o’clock, being— O’Leary, 520 miles two laps ; and Vaughan, 500 miles. It was very painful on Saturday afternoon to see these two men, both looking black and grimy from want of sleep, and so terribly leg-weary—O’Leary the more especially so, —but he knew he held the winning card in lus hand, and if he kept going at only two miles an hour for the remainder of the time he could not bo caught. On the other hand, poor Vaughan kept running to try and gain a few miles, so that in case O’Leary broke down altogether he should be near enough to him to be able to make up his ground before time was called. Five hundred and twenty miles in six days is beyond doubt a most marvellous performance, but it is distressing to find these long walks growing on the public tastes, as, however interesting they may be on solitary occasions, as proving how much the human frame is capable of enduring, they can but be in the long run most prejudicial to the constitutions of all those who indulge in them. The receipts during the week at the Agricultural Hall were very large, and amounted altogether to over £3OOO, on Saturday alone over £BOO being taken at the turnstiles.