Charles Rowell

Charles Rowell, who lived from 1852 to 1909, was an English athlete, a famous runner and celebrated exponent of the sport of pedestrianism race-walking. Born in Chesterton, Cambridge, and sometimes known as The Cambridge Wonder, he was first hired as a pacemaker for the champion Edward Payson Weston before building his own career. He was particularly successful in the six day race in the go-as-you-please style, in which competitors could walk or run as they wished, which featured as an annual contest between the United States and Britain from 1874 to 1888. He won the Astley belt, created in 1877 for the greatest distance on an indoor track over 144 hours, twice in 1879, covering 500 miles and then 530 miles. In 1882 he set world records for 100 miles, 24 hours and 48 hours, and his 300 miles in 58:17:06 still stands. He died in August 1909.