Author: Admin

The best way to understand a club’s beginnings and development is usually to look through the minutes.   Not all club  minutes are extant or easily accessible, nor are the guardians always as helpful as they might be.   In this case, the interest for the wider community comes from the location and nature of the environment in which the club thrives.   Beith Harriers is a good going, consistent club in a rural setting where the challenges facing the club are a bit different in nature from those faced by most of the clubs in the country – and on this website.  There are many clubs like Beith Harriers and their place in the sport should be recognised and understood.      The guardian of the minutes is Kenny Phillips – a genuine enthusiast who knows a bit about athletics generally in Scotland, and a lot about his club.   He has kindly allowed us to see and publish the following.   Kenny has gathered the following and the rest of the page is his.

I have gone through the Beith Harriers minutes and noted the following:-

03/12/1923  Beith Harriers formed.

11/12/1923  Committee agreed to see Mrs Hood, who granted the use of her store as training Headquarters.

23/08/1926 AGM Headquarters – Hall rent 4/- per week instead of 5/-, 7.30 – 10.00pm, upstairs and downstairs, Charge 1d per week for all persons using stripping accommodation.

26/06/1926 Committee   Club to procure 3 red bands for the pace of each pack and 3 yellow bands and whistle for the whips.

28/09/1926 Essential training items to be bought Sponges and bands, 3 of each for pace and whips plus whistle for whip. 

15/08/1927 AGM Weekly levy 1d per week plus membership fee Seniors over 18 years 3/6d, Juniors under 18 years 2/-.  Overture for training quarters at Saracens Hall.

22/08/1927 Committee  Saracens Hall for training at 5/- per week.  AF Neilson reported that he had negotiated a bath for the club, which had previously been utilised by Beith Football Club.

27/04/1928 Weekly charge of 2d, only when members train.

12/04/1929 Club acquired a hut for training.

05/1929 A van secured for training entailing an expenditure of £10 and it was decided to paint it a red colour.

02/09/1929 Club still without training facilities.

07/10/1929 Quotations for a brick building 40’ x 20’ and for purchase of ground.

08/11/1929 Repair to floor in clubhouse.

12/02/1930 Agreed to pay the rates amounting to 27/6d for the house now used as headquarters.

16/05/1930 Plan for new clubhouse and site.

23/05/1930 Plan for new clubhouse cost £335 but only £250 in bank.  Approved.

29/08/1930 New headquarters to be built and finished in 2 weeks, fully equipped with bathing accommodation and gymnasium at a total cost of £400.

09/01/1931 Agreed to install a hot water apparatus to give central heating.

12/06/1931 ½ Yearly Meeting  The summer levy for runners to be 2d per week and 3d per week for members who just desired a bath.  (most of the houses at that time were single ends and room and kitchens without a bath or inside water supply and the local residents made use of the club facilities of 2 baths and shower..).

23/07/1931 General Meeting  Proposed Ladies Section.  Annual Subscription 2/6d for members over 18 and 2/- for members under 18.  Levy 1d per week with training on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and on Saturdays when the Club was away from home.

26/08/1932 Committee Meeting  Mr J Gibson appointed to see about coal for the baths and anthracite for the heating.

22/05/1945 Clubhouse derequisitioned and opened for training.  Levy 2d per week to cover cost of baths etc.

26/03/1952 Beith Harriers granted a free let of the clubhouse to the Old People’s Welfare Fund for a Beetle Drive to raise funds for meals for old folk and that no charge would be made for coal, lights etc..

31/08/1955 Wardrop Street Social Club wished to recompense Beith Harriers for the use of the clubhouse and offered their new premises with a purvey for the summer free of charge.

07/09/1955 Wardrop Street Social Club again offered a free let of their premises and purvey for the Ballot Team Race on 01/01/1956.

18/09/1957 H Maxwell said that he had purchased an immerser for the boiler and it will be installed soon.

21/04/1959 ½ Yearly Meeting.  A neighbour who held a key for the clubhouse was worried that she did not know many of the new members and that she might be giving the key to unauthorised persons.  The water heater had been left on, on several occasions wasting electricity.

20/08/1964 AGM  Bathroom to be painted with Pink Snowcem and the pipes to be lagged.

31/08/1967 Ayrshire Cross Country Relay Championships to be held in Kilbirnie Public Park with changing at the Garnock Swimming Pool.   The Secretary was asked to approach the Parks Superintendent, George Murdoch, who was a former famous Beith Harrier, to measure the trail.

06/03/1972  H Maxwell to be asked for help to repair the broken toilet and burst pipes.

12/1972 Work Party  W Parker and J Sloss to arrange repairs to boiler, toilet, back door and felt roof.  J Sloss to collect toilet from M Barr.

05/10/1974 Committee Meeting  Try to repair clubhouse roof for £50.

17/06/1986 The use of Garnock Pool in Kilbirnie for training on Thursdays was approved.

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Beith Harriers had to spend a lot of time and energy building their clubhouse and maintaining it.  It had a felt roof that needed regular painting with bitumen and repair.  At one stage concrete roofing tiles of different colours were purchased cheaply and applied but they were too heavy for the wooden roof trusses and had to be removed and reverted to felt.  Very few clubs in Ayrshire had such a large gymnasium with equipment, two large baths, a shower, hot and cold water, central heating and various good cross country trails and it became popular for inter-club and championship races.

Reciprocal co-operation was achieved with neighbours, local organisations and other harrier clubs.   We got the let of the excellent Geilsland List D School for our Ne-erday races, when they were opened to females, and in return we offered to coach some of their residents.  We were thanked for our offer but reluctantly turned down because, “if the boys ran away, we would never catch them”

Stewarton Sports Association had a free let of the Strandhead Pavilion with showers on a Sunday morning but the members usually had a cross country run down one side of the River Annick and back up the other side, finishing with a dook in the burn, summer and winter, often having to break the ice.  They applied to Ayr County Council for the let of Stewarton High School to run an open cross country sports meeting on a Sunday for male and female athletes in all the age groups from Under 11 to Veterans but it was turned down by the letting committee whose membership included several ministers of religion.   With the assistance of the Ayrshire Harrier Clubs Association, a successful appeal was made to the full County Council.  Support was provided by the Community Education staff and over the years up to 800 competitors took part enjoying proper cross country courses, hot showers, and home-made baking.   When Stewarton Academy was built, the High School was converted to a Primary School with miniature toilets and the races transferred to Stewarton Academy and Robertland Primary School.  The races were successful for 30 years despite complaints from some of the head teachers.   We scrubbed out the schools after the races, to be ready for the schools starting on the Monday morning.  When we were blamed for damage, we had to inspect the school with the janitor before and after the let and list all defects.  We suggested that the Council should provide plastic sheeting to protect the games hall floor but we had to provide it at our expense.  In our final let the Academy was cleaned 3 times, once by us, once by contractors employed by the Council at our expense and once by the regular Council cleaners. 

Some of our most prestigous events are sadly lacking in bathing facilities. 

I remember running in my first National Cross Country Race at Hamilton Racecourse, where there was probably about 500 competitors, and there was only one sink with cold water under an outside serving counter.

At a recent National Cross Country Championships at Calendar Park, Falkirk, during very wet weather, many muddy harriers took advantage of a flooded field to get washed before setting out for home.

The oldest Life Member of Beith Harriers, George Lightbody, remembers some of the deplorable toilet facilities at track and field meetings in the summer Highland Games etc, where the proper toilets were reserved for guests and invitation athletes.  I shall send more details later.

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There is a wealth of good solid first hand historical information there that is worth study.   The obvious question about how did a club start and where were the changing rooms, is answered.   Not an easy first step to take – there was one Glasgow club whose runners turned up and met at a particular lamp post at a street corner.   That was their HQ!   

There is also a reference in June, 1926, to the purchase of red and yellow bands.   These were used for the regular pack runs with most clubs running three packs: fast, medium and slow.   Each pack was led by a nominated pace who was recognised by his red sash.  In addition each pack had a whip (or whipper-in) at the rear, wearing a yellow sash and carrying a whistle: if the pace set was too quick, the whip would communicate with the pace using the whistle to ease back to keep the pack together.   Similarly if the pace was too slow.   There were minor variations in detail – eg the Clydesdale Harriers whip wore a green sash although the red for the pace was the same.   

The continuing saga at every club was with accommodation.   Most clubs wanted their own club hut or clubhouse and for those that managed the dream of owning their own, the work that had to be put in – and was willingly put in – was  usually considerable.   This was not confined to Beith, clubs up and down the land spent lots of time raising money, repairing plumbing, doing woodwork and decorating the premises.   This is all made clear in the extracts from minutes and Kenny’s comments  above. 

Beith Harriers was always a good club – not a big club, but a good club.   You only have to look at the names of some of their men over the decades.   At one point in the 1960’s they had Ian Harris, Tom Cochrane, and Danny McFadzean, in the club at the same time.     And the talent was not confined to endurance runners – David Shedden who was a first class sprinter and long/triple jumper in the 1960’2 and a Scottish international rugby player, was a member of Beith as well as being a Scottish rugby internationalist.   

As a club they have enjoyed considerable local success in Ayrshire County Championships and in old South West District Cross-Country relays and events and have been strong supporters of the Ayrshire Harrier Clubs Association – probably the oldest county association and one which is still going strong when others have fallen by the wayside.    

In the South West District Championships which ran until 1975 the club’s record was a good one.   At Senior level they won the title in 1930, 1934, 1960 and 1963; at individual level the championship has been won by J Millar in 1934 and in the 1960s it was almost monopolised by the club with Ian Harris winning in 1961 and 1964 and then Tom Cochrane winning seven times including 5-in-a-row in 1960, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969.   His feat was recognised by the District Committee when they joined in with the Midland District when they awarded him the championship trophy to keep in perpetuity.   The District Junior title was won in 1964 by J Millar and in 1975 by A Gourlay – there was no separate Junior team race as they ran with the seniors.   In the Youths age group, the club won in 1960 while individual wins were by Ian Harris in 1953, J Millar in 1961, J Golder in 1972 and A Gourlay in 1974.    The Senior Men won the Relays in 1931, 1934, 1935, 1936 and 1938 before the war intervened.   After the war the club was successful in 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969.    Not a bad record in a very strong district which included clubs such as Bellahouston Harriers and both Greenock clubs – Glenpark and Wellpark.   

The club was also one of the mainsprings of the County Association, one which has outlasted many of the other county groupings which have appeared and disappeared over the years.   As well as organising the Beith New Year’s Dar race it has helped with county championships and on the track with the late Dirrans Sports Gala meeting,   The  arrs.run website which lists these statistics tells us that the Beith New Year race is, apart from the Carnwath Red Hose Race, the oldest endurance race in Scotland.   The Nigel Barge race in Glasgow and the Edinburgh to  North Berwick are second and third.

The links below are what they say – click on the link for detailed pages on the topics.

  Tom Cochrane     Ian Harris     Danny McFadzean     Ken Phillips

Ayrshire Harrier Clubs Association   Ayrshire Harrier Clubs Association:  Some Notables   .

Ayrshire Harrier Clubs Association 1924 – 39   . Ayrshire Harrier Clubs Association: 1945 – 1955   . AHCA 1956-59

Beith New Year Race   .Dirrans Sports   Club Crest and Motto

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The sports of 1876 were held on 9th September and the report in the Scotsman read as follows

The first amateur athletic club of any  size was Clydesdale Harriers, established in 1885, and in 1877 most of  the competitors were either members of football clubs, of other sporting clubs or individuals.   The QPFC Sports were held before 4,000 ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ and incorporating a steeplechase indicated that it was no ordinary meeting – for a start the steeplechase was a difficult event to organise and supervise but it was undeniably a good meeting.

*

The second Saturday in September, 8th,  was the date in 1877 for the sports and the ‘Glasgow Herald’ started its report – 

“On Saturday the annual amateur sports of the Queen’s Park Football Club were held under the most favourable circumstances of weather and in presence of a very large assemblage of spectators.   The events passed of without a hitch and in all cases the entries were good and the contests close.   The feature of the day was the form displayed by the competitors hailing from London.”  

As might have been expected, the football clubs from Glasgow and the West of Scotland provided many of the individuals and they turned out teams in the four a side (won by Third Lanark RV) and tug of war (won by Clyde FC).   The meeting was the end of the athletics season and the report concluded with the remarks that ‘now that the season has been opened, the favourite winter pastime of football will be maintained in all its former vigour and we believe that matches have been fixed, or in course of arrangement, with Oxford University, Cambridge University, Wanderers, Nottinghamshire and Old Wykehamist Football Clubs. ‘   

*

In 1878 the sports were  held on the first Saturday in September,  the 7th,  and were described by the reporter as ‘a popular festival’.   All the usual runners were here including JA Crerar of Third Lanark, Finlayson and Harvie of Queen’s Park and Tom Vallance won the long jump.   The football was won by Third Lanark (Kennedy, Lang, Hunter, Fraser) over Rangers.   Unfortunately the report  was a bit blurred but it is legible so it will be reproduced here, partly so that the tale of the professional who won his race and then disqualified himself.

*

“Miss Nan Robson (15), who won the club championship of the ladies’ section of the Dundee Hawkhill Harriers in a 3-mile race, which she completed in 16 mins 40 secs.”

Dundee Evening Telegraph, Monday, 20 Jan, 1930

The Women’s A-Z of club runners on this website summarises Nan’s career as follows and after reading it, you may agree that it is worth elaborating just a bit.   Certainly the time above for a three miles race is still a creditable time.

“Nan Robson was a pioneer cross-country runner who competed for Dundee Hawkhill Harriers. The SWAAA first organised a Women’s cross-country Relay at Bothwell Castle (outside Glasgow) in 1930. DHH (including their fastest runner, Nan Robson) finished second to Shettleston Harriers. In 1931, that order remained the same.

However, in 1932, when a normal race was organised at Hamilton Racecourse, the National Cross-Country Champion was Nan Robson who “ran a magnificent race”, in front of the Scottish half-mile record holder Connie Johnston and Barbara Anderson, both from Maryhill H (which was first team, in front of Dundee). Yet Dundee Hawkhill won in 1934 and 1935.”

Dundee Hawkhill Harriers Ladies Section was one of the very first in Scotland and its members won no fewer than five Scottish women’s cross-country individual titles  in the 1930′.   It was a big group too – one report on a rival team mentioned that it’s Lady member had taken part in a competition.   That’s ‘Lady member’ as in singular as in one.   The Hawkhill group above indicates the strength of the club.   It was also a part of the club – unlike some women’s sections which were forbidden to wear the same strip as the men’s section and which were required to have their own treasurer, and structure within the club.  Note the following clipping from the Courier’  of 19th December, 1929: 

Nan’s importance is that she was the club’s top runner almost as soon as she joined the club and that she won the Scottish women’s national championship in 1932.   She is not mentioned in the Courier report of  30th December, 1929 which simply said: The ladies’ section of Dundee Hawkhill Harriers held a sealed handicap race on Saturday over two miles of road.   Good times were returned.   Miss M Mitchell, scr, taking 12 mins 11 secs and Miss P Laird (received 1 sec) 12 mins 16 secs.

She was certainly a member in January, 1930, as the photograph at the top of the page tells us she had won the club championship at the age of 15.   She was in action during the summer and competed in meetings on the track.   The Courier  reported on two of them: 

On 14th June, 1930 she ran at the  Invergowrie Sports.   She was second in the 100 yards handicap in which she and the winner both ran from scratch and on 21st June at the Midmills Sports, before a crowd of 2,500 spectators, she was third in the 880 yds handicap, again running from the scratch mark.   There must have been other meetings before that for the handicapper to have given the teenager a scratch mark in both 100 and 880 yards races.

However it is as a cross-country runner that she made her mark and the report on 1st December, 1930 read as follows.  

There were no women’s cross-country championships at national level at the time but the idea of a women’s relay was floated, it was accepted and the first race was on 13th December, 1930.   The relay involved teams of eight women, each running approximately one mile.   It was held at Bothwell Castle and necessarily involved a long travel for the team.   It was won by Shettleston Harriers with Hawkhill Ladies second.   The report tells us that Dundee were well behind in the first three laps of eight, but came through in the latter part of the race.   Team: M Mitchell 7:49, E Christie 7:46, J McKenzie 7:56I  Farmer 7:54, P Laird 7:42, T Graves 8:14, J Cant 7:24 and N Robson 7:05.  Total Time: 61:50.   Nan had equal second fastest time with C Hogg of Maryhill, only 2 seconds slower than fastest time by Nan Aitken of Shettleston.   

That was the biggest race of 1930 cross-country and it was into the 1931 track season for Nan Robson along with the other members of her club.   On Wednesday, 27th May, 1931, the Courier had a preview of sports to be held at Dens Park courtesy of Dundee FC in connection with National Lifeboat Week.  Nan Robson had entered and was scratch runner in both 220 yards and one mile.   Unfortunately, in the event, held on 1st June, Robson was not mentiones but club mate Miss HS Christie won both 1 mile and 2 miles handicaps.   Shortly after that, on 20th June, at Midmill Sports before its usual big crowd – this time of 3000 spectators  – Nan ran from scratch in the 220 yards and finished second.     

Between summer track and winter cross-country seasons, on 3 Sept, 1931, the Evening Telegraph had notice of the Hawkhill sponsored and organised Perth to Dundee 20 mile walk, finishing on the Esplanade in Dundee, with 28 ladies taking part, including N Robson.   Competitors were to travel by 1:00 pm train from Dundee, changing in the YMCA Perth and there were to be 5 training walks on Sundays from different parts of the city.   The walk was held and won by Ina Buist but there was no mention of Nan in the results – it’s not clear whether she was unplaced or just didn’t start.   The distance wouldn’t have upset her, as we will see she used to do 30 mile walks once a week.

1932 was to be Nan’s big year.   There was to be a Scottish Women’s Cross-country Championships to take place at Hamilton Park Race course

.The championship was to take place on 12th March, 1932, and there were nine teams entered.   The report from the ‘Glasgow Herald’ read – 

“Instituted last year as a relay event, but this year decided on ordinary team lines, the annual championship decided by the Scottish Women’s Amateur Athletic Association was decided at Hamilton Park Racecourse.   As on the previous Saturday when the NCCU Championship was decided at the same venue, a Dundee runner gained the individual honour while the team championship went to Maryhill Harriers, a Dundee club again being runner-up.   Out of an entry of nine teams (eight to run, four to count) all were forward except Kilbarchan Harriers who had only three runners of their team present, these competing as individuals.   The course was laid on the race track and measured very little short of two miles.   Excellent conditions prevailed   Right from the start Nan Robson went to the front.   When the runners returned having traversed the loop at the bottom of the straight, the Hawkhill champion was seen to have opened a lead of several yards.   This advantage the Dundee girl steadily increased finally breaking the tape an easy winner.   Constance Johnson (Maryhill) the Scottish half mile champion and record holder, finished second almost 100 yards behind while BG Anderson (Shettleston) was fully that distance farther  to the rear”

The ‘Courier’ also reported on the race but not in such depth – the women who ran were entitled to their celebration.   Look at the faces in the photograph below from ‘The Courier’ of 14th March 1932.

Local papers love local sports people winning national championships and  this is typified by the feature article from the ‘Courier‘ below.

On 3rd May, 1932 at Dens Park, there was a Dundee Ministers  vs  Midlands Amateur ‘Old Crocks’.  Two -races at half time – a men’s walking race and a women’s half mile with Nan Robson competing.   But on the day of the match, there was no report of the races at all.   However she must have been racing to have received and accepted the invitation.

At this point, Nan (not yet 20 years old) disappears from the local papers reports on athletics.   In 1933 there was no mention either.   The women’s national cross-country championship which she had won with such panache in 1932 was covered as follows on 27th March, 1933, in  the ‘Courier‘

There were many races that summer in which the Hawkhill Ladies did well but there was no sign of .   eg   

10th April, 1933: Novelty Ladies 4 laps race at Tannadice before the game.   16 entries.   Race won by Vera Murray but no sign of Nan.

17th April, 1933: Ladies Relay team of two harriers and two cyclists – no Nan.

19th June, Midmill Sports: No entry from Nan.

….   and that would seem to be the end of her career.   She came into the sport at the end of 1929 as a 15-year-old and was gone by mid-1932.   It was probably a sign of the times  that women had short careers that ended when they started to grow up and behave like ladies should.   Society had expectations of young women.   Whatever the reason, a superb young talent was gone from the sport.

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The Hearts Sports of 1890 followed the practice of several other clubs by having a preliminary meeting followed a week later by the athletic sports the following Saturday.   In 1891, the second meeting with almost all the athletics,  was on 6th May at Tynecastle  Park before a crowd of about 5000 including ‘not a few ladies’.   Given that the Queen’s Park FC Sports were being held in Glasgow on the same day with a crowd of 8000, most of the sportsmen were from the east of the country.   The turn out was nevertheless a good one with ten heats of the 100 yards starting the afternoon.   The closest finish was in the ninth heat where the judges could not separate the first two runners (Watson of Edinburgh Harriers, and Bryden of Edinburgh Northern Harriers) so there was a run off to decide who went through to the second round.  Watson won the decider easily and went on to win the second round race and then victory in the final in 10 1/2 sec (“a shade over”).    Watson also won the quarter mile off a mark of 13 yards (he had 3  yards in the 100) in 53 seconds from Anderson.    

 There were 22 runners in the half mile including SAAA Champion RH Mitchell of St Mirren FC) who was not among the prize winners.   The limit men ‘made the pace so hot’ that the back markers ‘were soon out of it’ and the eventual winner was JC Somers of Hearts FC in 53 seconds with Mitchell unplaced.   Somers and second placed R Smith of the |Harriers were both off 40 yards and the winning time was 2 min 4 1/2 sec.   The Mile was also won by a back marker in McLagan of Edinburgh Harriers off 85 yards with second placed Mercer of Leith Hibernian was off 90 yards.   18 ran in the race which was won in 4 min 40 sec.   The two miles race was won by JW Pollard of Edinburgh Harriers off 25 yards in a field of six runners in a time of 10 min 05 sec.   

Hearts won the football tournament (11 a side) from Leith Athletic by one goal to none.   There were also 3 cycle races.

In 1892 the second Saturday was the 4th June, and the report was in The Scotsman of 6th June,    The star name had to be that of AR Downer (above).  Downer would go on to win the :triple triple” (ie the 100, 220 and 440 yards at the same SAAA Championship) in 1893, ’94 and ’95.   He won the 100 yards from a handicap mark of 1 1/2 yards with the previous year’s winner, Watson, in third.  Winning time?  11.4 seconds.   The Scotsman report minus the detailed list of results (including the cycling and five a side football, is below.

Results:  100 yards:  1.  Downer;   2.  Simpson (St George’s AC);  3.   Watson      10 Heats.

440 yards:   1. J Hurry (EH  26 yards);    2.  W Arnot  (EH 22);   3.JF Brand (EH – 23 yards);     9 ran

Half Mile:  1.   JB Hume  (EH  15);  2.  TK FaArnotir  )EH  40);  3.  WCS Heathcote (EH  50).  2 min 4.6   23 ran

Mile:  1.  RA Bruce  (Watson’s College  70);  2. J Hutchison (ENH  125);  3.  W Blackley (100 yards)   4 min 36.  23 ran

Two Miles Inter Club for the Davidson Trophy:   1.   1  Edinburgh H (1  Pollard,  2  Carment,  3  Hunter,  4  McLagan);   2.   Northern Harriers.   9:54 

Hearts won the football final beating Leith Athletic by 2 goals and one point to nil.

One of the more interesting runners of the afternoon was William Miller Carment who was an excellent runner and one who ent on to become one of the country’s foremost officials including President of the SAAA in 1910-11.   You can read more about him   here  .*

1893 :  Unfortunately we could not find the results in either the ‘Scotsman’ or ‘Glasgow Herald’ for 1893 but the hunt will go on.   So we go straight to 1894.   

There were some big changes in 1894, the main one being a switch from a two day meeting with events confined to club members on the first and the open amateur sports on the second.   The report in the Scotsman reads:

So there it is.  Heart of Midlothian became a professional football club in 1894.    The extract above is also interesting in that DS Duncan was a Judge and WM Lapsley – owner of Powderhall and promoter of sporting events there was again handicapper.   As far as the sports went, there were nine heats of the 100 yards but the sixth heat ‘resulted in a fiasco on account of the starter’s pistol snapping.’   This was AR Downer’s heat and it had to be re-run.   The result was a win for Downer, “the crowd fairly rose at Downer, as he bounded off his mark in beautiful style, much better in fact thand was his wont.   Keeping at it, he reached the tape first amid a scene of great enthusiasm.”   And that was just a heat!   There were two heats and Downer was in the second, the first having been won by James Richardson of Cupar FC.   “Downer ran very unsteadily coming up the straight and failed to catch Home (Motherwell Harriers) but managed to qualify for the final.”  In the Final, Downer (scratch) won from Home (5 1/2 yards) and Richardson (8 yards).   Downer just won on the tape in a time of 10.2 seconds.   

Downer appeared again in the Quarter Mile but “raced himself off his feet and had to retire.”   The race was won by RA Bruce of Watson’s from .J MacRitchie, also Watson’s College, and JD Hill. Edinburgh Harriers in 53 seconds.

  F Bacon, one of the country’s top runners, was favourite for the Half Mile Handicap but running from scratch he had to be content with second place behind TRH Scott of Edinburgh Harriers running from 55 yards who won in 1:59.4

The One Mile Handicap was won jy J Harris of Elderslie Harriers (145 yards)with D Urquhart, Edinburgh Harriers (155 yards) second and A Reid, Edinburgh Harriers (115 yards) third.   The winning time was 4:25.4.    

In the Three Miles race for the Davidson Trophy, the first mile was run in 5minutes 01 second, the second in in 10:20 and the third in 15:21.6.   The winning team was Clydesdale Harriers with 11 points from Edinburgh Northern (20 points) and Edinburgh Harriers (21 points).   “Robertson and Duffus bore the brunt of the work at the outset, though the numerous admirers of Welsh noted with satisfaction that their favourite always held a commanding position.  Three laps from home it was a nice race between the three, and with Welsh in the rear it hardly looked as if he would be able to make it up on his men.   Going round the bend for the last time he, however, made his effort, and from that point the race was never in doubt, for he sprinted in beautiful style, and won amid loud cheering.”

WH Welsh

It may be that because of the club’s transition to professional status the sports were dropped at that point but we could find no results or any word at all of a Hearts Sports meeting after that date.   In 1895 there was a meeting organised by Edinburgh Harriers on that date – and in 1896 and 1897 too.   On 10th June, 1895, Edinburgh Harriers held a sports meeting at Powderhall before a crowd estimated at 2000+.   The officials included WM Lapsley and F Lumley; the athletes included H Welsh and Hugh Barr, seven times SAAA LJ Champion and also an international sprinter.   

John, from Rosyth in West Fife, came into the sport as a runner and competitor on the professional games circuit.   Many from Fife ran as professionals – partly because of the county’s traditional circuit which was as well established as the Border Games and the Highland Games but possibly also because of the difficulties of linking up with any amateur club.  It may simply be that there were a number of pro schools in his area and he went along with some of his pals..   Whatever the reason, John was a well-known athlete on the professional circuit where he won a number of prizes and has been described as a formidable competitor.    The photograph below shows him running in a handicap event at Braemar with other competitors such as Alastair Macfarlane from Bannockburn and the Murray brothers from Kilmarnock.   He competed throughout the 1960’s and his career as a runner gradually moved into one as a coach.

Braemar handicap mile: John is on the right

.Like many ex-professionals, he went in to coaching with an amateur club.   In his case this was with Pitreavie AAC where he started coaching in the early/mid-70’s.   He initially assisted other coaches but soon found his own coaching niche in middle/long distance and cross country and continued coaching in these events for the next 50yrs , even when latterly , he was not in the best of health.  He coached countless numbers of youngsters, many of them going on to win Championship medals at Scottish and British Championships.    One of them is below with a proud John in the middle of the back row..   Among his most successful athletes were 

Clark Murphy, who represented Great Britain on the track and cross-country ;

John Newson; who went on to win 9 medals in Scottish championships with 3 different clubs

Kathryn Pennel; ranked 14 times at distances between 800m and 3000m

Siobhan Coleman; aan outstanding distance runner for Pitreavie and Villanova University, USA

Ben Potrykus, who was twice placed third in Scottish championships and ran for Pitreavie and Bradley University, USA

Justly proud of Clark Murphy’s selection as the first home Scot to run for Britin in the re-vamped World Cross eligibility rules, he is quoted in the following cutting.

A very good club coach but more than that – John became Scottish Staff Coach for 5000m and 10,000m in the 1990s.    This involved working with the Scottish squad at training days and in competition, filling a similar role with the Development squad (ie U17 and U20 athletes) and in coach education.   I remember that on one warm weather training camp in Portugal, John noticed Steve Ovett’s coach, Harry Wilson, at a nearby table in the cafeteria.   He approached him, introduced himself and asked Harry if he would talk to the members of the Scottisg endurance squad.   Harry obliged and the squad benefited from the session the following afternoon.   The full complement of coaches for the national squad at the time included Brian McAusland (Group Coach),  Mike Johnston (800/1500), John Wands. (5000/10000m), Gordon Crawford (steeplechase), and John Graham (Marathon).   Not bad company to be in.   

He coached countless numbers of youngsters, many of them going on to win Championship medals at Scottish and British Championships.    One such team is below with a proud John in the middle of the back row.. 

He was listed in the Pitreavie AAC Coaching set up as a Performance Coach working with two Development Coaches in Euan Miller and Bill Lindsay who were Assistant Coaches.   His involvement did not stop there however.   He had grown to love the Highland Games and Gatherings all over the land and was involved in the main as an announcer, and as an announcer he was one of those who knew the events, who knew the competitors and had enough knowledge the traditions of the various meetings to be able to fill in the blanks in the programmes – and even the ‘down time’ between events.   The talent did not go unnoticed  and he developed the role into being a commentator at Scottish championships in arenas across the country, such as the Emirates indoor arena in Glasgow.   

As an indication of the esteem in which he was held, he was elected a Life Member of Pitreavie in 2003.   Knowing John, though, despite all the various things he was involved in, he was happiest among his athletes and mixing with the competitors.   At Pitreavie, the comment of another club member was simply: 

 “He’ll be sadly missed around the place as he’s always been there, seemed to never be a club training night that he wasn’t there.”

Noremac’s competitive career lasted for at least another 15 years during which he kept up his fierce competition record.   Obviously we can’t cover them all in this brief profile but we can look at some of them and note his progression.   His best performances were behind him, but he kept on competing – he obviously enjoyed it, he often represented the walkers in the pre-race negotiations about prize money and race conditions  he had already done what was to be his best ever 6 day Go-As-You-Please total and his 5,100 miles in 100 days in 1884/5 would stand as a world record into the twenty first century.   It only really remains to show some evidence of his continuing involvement in the sport.  We can start by giving an indication of his year by starting on 1st January, 1890.

January 1st, 1890: A six day race started in Pittsburgh with all the usual runners taking part.

March 1890: The Pittsburgh Dispatch gave a preview of 6 day Go-As-You-Please in second week of April.   All the usual suspects: Noremac, Herty, Hegelman, Cartwright, Horan, Guerrero, and Golden would be competing on a track of 19 laps to the mile.

April 15th, 1890: Challenges of various sorts were also a way to make money, and simultaneously build a reputation.   These were often, but not always man-on-man, something that you wouldn’t see now unfortunately.   One such was when George Cartwright challenged Noremac in April 1890.  We quote: “Cartwright challenges Noremac to 72 hour race for $500 or $1000 a side: Noremac stipulates not less than six or eight weeks thereafter,”    After some coming and going the following appeared in the Pittsburgh Dispatch of 16th April 1890.

This was followed on 26th April by a paragraph in the San Francisco  ‘Morning Call’ paper which read “George D Noremac, the pedestrian, has left a forfeit of $50 with the Pitsburgh Dispatch with a challenge to run any man in the world twelve hours a day for six days for $500 or $1000 , the race to be run six weeks after signing articles.”   This same para was run in the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer of the same date.   $%00 – $1000 were not small sums of money and the fact of them being offered is an indication of th type of living standard enjoyed by the peds.   

Wednesday 15th October: Another 6 day Go-As-You-Please in Altoona, Pennsylvania

This was no doubt followed by more races up to the Christmas period.   Into 1891 and we see that he raced at least as follows.

1891:   Among the interesting, and maybe educational from the point of view of the 21st century athlete, are the following from 1891.

The St Paul Daily Globe of January 25th, 1891:  There was a very, very long preview of the Six-Day Challenge which was to start the following day with lots of information about the competitors, the organisation and anything else that could be conceivably be classed as relevant.   What is interesting about it for us is the note about the meeting of the competitors to decide on how the money would be divided among the runners.   

There was another 6 day race on Tuesday, February 24th, 1891 and again Noremac was one of the competitors..   The arena had seating for 700 spectators and a bridge had been built above the track for  those who did not care to be seated could stand within the sawdust area.   3,842 people entered the Saturday before the competition began to see the peds.   It was advertised as the first professional race to be seen within the city of St Paul.    At the finish, Hegelman, who won, received $592:16,  Frank Hart  $370:04,  Cowboy Smith  $222:06,   Henry Messler, $177:09, Sammy Day $118:43, Old Sport Campana  and  Noremac  ” were paid  salaries”.    

The ‘Helena Independant’ of 14th March 1891 gave pen portraits of all the top runners of the day and had this to say of Noremac:   “George D Noreman (or to call him by his right name, Cameron) is a plucky, stocky little Scotchman who may be depended upon to stay on the track until the walk is over and to make the man just ahead of him keep going.   He is not as a rule a first prize winner but he usually wins some prize and is never the last in the hunt.”

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer of March 16th, 1891, in an article dated 2nd March, announced “$10,000 Walking Match in Madison Square Gardens”   And it was indeed to be a great race – there were 43 entries on that day of the article – and was to be held on 15th March.   The track was to be a ‘tan-bark elipse’ and it was a determined effort to revive interest in six-day walking contests.  Black Heart, the Sioux chief was also running. (Los Angeles Herald, March 16th)    A Turkish Prince was also said to be taking part. There would be a belt, made of gold or silver, studded with diamonds and valued at $1500, for the winner, and the winner would receive $5000.      Bob Fitzsimmons the boxer would start the race and be paid $11 for it.   Each runner had to put up $300 and pay an entry fee as well as give evidence that they had done at least three weeks training.   All runners  were guaranteed some money reward at the end of the race – so some entered without paying the entry fee, saying that it could come out of their money for finishing!   

The races continued and the money was made – albeit at an apparently reduced rate – but the popularity of the event was waning and coverage in the Press was reduced.   No races were covered at a national level in any of the newspapers covered by the American Library of Congress between 1882 and 1899 with only one covered in the laast of these (a 72 hours event in New York in September of that year with all the usual suspects (Day, Guerrero, Noremac, Hegelman, Geary, Glick, etc.).   There was slightly more coverage in the early years of the 20th century with most the same contestants – Hart, Cox, Degan – along with some newcomers such as Spotty Clifford were forward for a six-day event in Pennsylvania in September, 1901.   Other events were being held, but not covered although some reference was made to them.   

In 1902 the  Butte Inter Mountain newspaper of 6th January 1902 reported on the 100 miles Go-As-You-Please in St Louis where the race ended after 97 miles with Noremac third (324 miles) behind Harry Shelton, the coloured pedestrian (361) and George Tracy (335).     November 9th saw the start of the 6 day world championship race in Pittsburgh with more than 40 contestants.   

A year later, as reported in the Waterbury Evening Democrat of 14th November, the race would again be held but with a variation: the variation  was that the race would not be in 6 twelve hour stints, it would be non-stop with competitors being allowed to take as much or as little rest as they wanted/needed to.   This was not legally permissible so they were going to compete as teams.   Note the following.

He would be 50 years old in 1904 and his career as an athlete was almost at an end.   He had been racing since the 1870’s and PS Marshall had this to say of him in ‘King of the Peds’: “In his formative years as an up-and-coming “pro”, Cameron proved himself as a handy runner at shorter distances. Winning prize money of up to £20 at a time, he consistently finished in the frame in races ranging from one mile handicaps to 4-hour events over six days all over Scotland, which included events at the Aberdeen Recreation Grounds, the Powderhall Grounds and Royal Gymnasium in Edinburgh, the Shawfield Grounds in Glasgow and the Drill Hall at Perth.”   

He had raced all over Scotland, in England and then took his talents across the Atlantic to the USA where he had a long and successful career in the sport – undoubtedly one of Scotland’s best ever endurance athletes.

Noremac and some of his contemporaries in Americs: from Washington World, May 6th 1889.

We have looked at the start of Noremac’s athletics career and been impressed with some of the feats recorded there but how would he have fared in today’s athletics world?   For instance, just how good was his six-day record?  Willie Sichel (below) is indisputably one of the all time great British ultra distance runners with victories and, records set over many ultra long distance events.    He had several attempts to take Noremac’s Six-Day record but never quite managed it.   When we spoke to him about it he said – 

You’re correct I didn’t manage to break his record unfortunately.   I first broke the 500 mile barrier in Monaco in 2007. After that I started to research records in these longer distances.   I’m not sure how I stumbled across Noremac but possibly the initial information might have come from Andy Milroy.   His story obviously caught my imagination and his record was one I seriously tried to break.   My best ended up at 532.56 miles in Hamm, Germany in 2008. The thing with a 6 day race, is that so much can happen to both enhance or detract from your performance.   Whether the race is indoors (like Noremac’s) or outdoors like mine, there are pros and cons.   My Hamm run was on a cinders track in summer and I had to cope with scorching temperatures with occasional downpours that flooded the poorly drained track.   

I ended up doing ten, 6 day races, exceeding 500 miles in 4 of them.   The 6 Day event requires a fascinating blend of speed, endurance, time management and resilience.   I believe Noremac’s record is safe for a long time to come.”

What Willie says is very interesting: 500 miles in 6 days iss considerably good running: almost 84 miles per day, and his best run of 532.6 miles in a race (which he won) at Hamm in Germany in 2008. which is just short of 90 miles a day.     The fact that he does not think Noremac’s record will ever be beaten is testament to the quality of the mark.

Noremac did a phenomenal amount of racing – reported to be over 5000 miles per year.   We can’t cover them all in a profile such as this but we can look at some of the highlights.   1884 was a very good year for him with a fine effort at the very end .   Among the races he had that year before then were .

On 28th April, Daily Kennebec Journal reports on The Great Race in Madison Square Gardens in New York, and the Six Day Go-As-You-Please in Chicago during the week of the Democratic National Convention.   These and others during the year led, for what was to  me, arguably the real highlight:  came between November 3rd, 1884 and between then and  February, 1885. Read this short preview from the New York Clipper of 1st November, 1884 –

“George Noremac – The attempt on the part of George Noremac, the long distance pedestrian, backed by Capt. Paul Boyton, to excel the feat performed in England by EP Weston by walking fifty one miles daily for one hundred consecutive days, on a time limit of fifteen hours daily, will commence at 10 am, Nov. 3, at the Midlothian Arms, 466 Eight Avenue.”

The event started on time and three days later The New York Sun reported – “George D Noremac who is trying to beat Weston’s record of 5000 miles in 100 days was circling the track in Midlothian Hall last night.   He has to go round the track 44 times to make a mile.   He walked and ran at a rapid rate  and completed the third stage of his long journey about midnight, when he had made fifty-one miles during the day.   He then retired.   He will resume his tramp at 9 this morning.”    He started well, and stopping after the exact 51 miles required for the day, he was disciplined eough to stop for his nine hours rest.  Fitness and discupline servied him well for we read in the Mayville, Kentucky, Evening Bulletin at the start of January the following under the heading ‘SCOTLAND’S PLUCKY PEDESTRIAN’

“New York, Jan 3rd – George D Noremac has passed over the summit of his great tramp of 5.100 miles to be made in 100 days.   This is the fifty-third day of his journey.   He has 2,601 miles to his credit.   His task is 51 miles a day, over a track of forty-four laps to the mile  in Midlothian Hall, Eighth Avenue, near Thirty-fourth Street.   Norman Taylor, the pie-eating pedestrian from Vermont, keeps the score, and enough spectators are always on hand to detect errors.   Noremac himself watches the figures closely.   His ambition is to make an honest record that will lead the best previous performance of fifty miles.”

At 44 laps to the mile. that would be 2,244 laps a day to get his 51 miles every day.   It would be done in a Hall with abour 100 spectators present – more at particular times of the day or at special points in the walk (eg halfway) and towards the end.   Nevertheless he continued and we are told in the Democratic Advocate of 28th February, 1885,    “George D Noremac who has been walking at Midlothian Hall for the past 100 daysfinished his 5100 miles Thiursday night last.   Thje pedestrian was in good ocndition.   The walk grew out of a wager of $2000 that Noremac could walk 100 days in succession and score 51 miles each day.”   And the  Abbeville Free Press of 11th March, said that – “George D Noremac, a professional pedestrian, has finished a long tramp in New York City, having covered 5,100 miles in 100 days on a wager of $2000.”   The New York Times says that he finished at 11:10 pm.   

The cartoon below is from the Sundat Star, Washington, of June 13th, 1920 as part of the Ripley series of sporting wonders.

The public loved these events and most of the participants had their own supporters and backers, and many had their own trainers travelling with them.   They were colourful characters – Noremac had changed his name) some of whom were quite eccentric – “Old Sport” Campana from Bridgeport was a real favourite because of the unusual antics he performed on-track. Gus Guerrero from Mexico was on occasion referred to as “The Greaser”, Frank Hart, the “colored” champion from Boston also “wowed” the crowds because he was “different”, Nitaw-Eg-Ebow was a Kickapoo Indian, Winston H Burrell ‘a coloured man’,  and the Irishman, John “Lepper” Hughes, also created quite a stir because of his passionate attitude.   They were well rewarded for their efforts – rewards for the most successful “peds” were huge: eg for winning just two races in New York, the “Cambridge Wonder”, Charles Rowell, from England, managed to secure prize money totaling an incredible $50,000! 

Noremac continued racing and appears over the years as George Noremac (New York), George  Noremac of Philadelphia and he is even described as ‘the Scotsman’ or George Noremac (Scotland) and even as George D Noremac (Cameron) – the latter in the Caldwell Tribune (Idaho) in February 1887.   He criss-crossed the continent throughout the year competing against the same opponents over and over again in races of all sorts, some as short as 12 hour man-against-man challenges, all the way up to the 5100 miles in 100 days challenge.   The rewards were what made it worthwhile of course.   That the races were popular there is no doubt.   For instance in May, 1888, 44 contestants took part in the World Championship six-day championship in Madison Square Gardens.  Each entry paid $350 and had to and had to make 100 miles in the first 24 hours to stay on the track.   The entry fee was high but the prize money was also good with any man breaking the record receiving $10,000.  The scene at the start as described by the Fort Worth Daily Gazette – “Nearly 10,000 people were gathered outside the gate by 9 0’clock awaiting the opening of the doors, and a mad rush followed as the gates were swung back.   One hundred policemen on duty were for a time powerless to prevent serious over-crowding.   The announcement that John L Sullivan would start the contestants was the drawing card but the crowd sought him in vain.   At 12  o’clock the contestants were all on the track and Jack Dempsey vaulted over the railing to start the race instead of Sullivan.”.   

 1889: A Typical Year

Given the amount of racing and travelling that he did, and that many of his races were covered only or in the main by local papers, they can’t all be covered but it is interesting to try to follow 1889 as a typical year.

*7th March, 1889: 50 hour pedestrian contest at the rink in Parkersville, West Virginia from 8 o’clock on Thurday to 11 o’clock on Saturdau

*Beginning on the first Monday in April, there would be a six-day Go-As-You-Please in Kansas City.   There would be special prizes for breaking 24 hour, 48 hour, 72 hour and 142 hour records.   Won by the little Scotchman with 501 miles and 9 laps from Hegelman who covered 487 miles and 1 lap.   Noremac won $1,100 and was a popular winer.

*20th April, Pittsburgh, 12 hour race between George Cartwright and George D Noremac and a notice appeared in the  Dispatch saying “George Cartwright and George D Noremac appeared before Police Magistrate Gripp yesterday and made affidavit to the effect that their 12 hour race on Saturday, 20th April, is legitimate, and that each would try to win.”

*On May 6th, 1889, the New York Evening World advertised the Grand Six-Day  Go-As-You-Please  with ‘Every Civilised Nation on the Face of the Globe Represented’   The final paragraph of the preview said that “Mr and Mrs Noremac were there: George Noremac, attended by his devoted wife is in, as usual, “to get a piece of the boodle”, and having set out at a dog trot at midnight, will continue to the end.”   And he did well in the race: on the Wednesday he moved from ninth place to second.   The “dog trotting little Scotchman” had two hours rest and then started off ‘as slick as grease’ according to his admirers.   On the final day, when he passed the 500 miles, the band playing to entertain the crowd played “The Highland Fling.”

*June 29th – Nine-Day (12 hours a day) race at Sea Beach Palace Hotel, Coney Island.   This one had some novel features – (1) Ghost Sullivan Arab Stout, an Indian from the Catterangus Reservation in full war paint; (2) A special gold medal to be competed for by New York newsboys.   This would be over two miles for the Police Gazette Championship of |New York;  (3) Special prizes for short races which will also took place during the nine days. eg there would be a five mile race for the mail carriers for the gold medal and championship of the New York Post Office.; (4) A Niagara Falls of running water to keep the place cool, (5) The track was a good one and five laps to the mile.   The novelties were partly because it was Coney Island but also because the 9 days included the 4th July and two Saturdays.   Dates carefully organised to maximise crowd attendance and profits for the organisers – half of the takings was going to prize money.   

*In early October there was a six-day event in Waterbury  and it was commented that “Noremac is proving it correct that as the days increase, so do his running powers.”    The same issue of the ‘Waterbury Evening Democrat’ has an interesting couple of open letters.   The first reads: “GUERRERO ISSUES A CHALLENGE.   To the Editor of The Democrat:- A report has been issued since I left the track at the six-days race here that I had no heart and was pushed so hard I was not able to stand the strain.   Some people have also sneered at the statement that I am not the 48 hours champion of the world.   I have records to prove my statement and proofs sufficient to satisfy anyone.   I therefore issue the following challenge:- I will run any man now on the track for $200 to $500 from 1 hour to 142 hours.   I will also run on this track two local peds 5 miles, each to run 2 1/2 miles.   This challenge means business.   Now let the sneerers squeal or shut up.   Gus Guerrero.”

This was followed in the same edition by the following:- ” A NUT FOR GUERRERO TO CRACK.   To the Editor of The Democrat:- It having come to our knowledge that Gus Guerrero is to issue a challenge in your paper today to run any man now on the track, for 1 hour to 142 hours for any amount of money, we desire to make our statement and acceptance at the same time.   Dan Herty will run Guerrero six days , twelve hours a day, George Noremac will run him twelve hours, and Jack Spicer will run him twenty miles, for any sum he wishes to put up.   As a guarantee we have deposited $25 with The Democrat.   Respectfully, Dan Herty, George Noremac and Jack Spicer.”

*The year finished in Pittsburg from December 23rd to 28th, $1000 in prizes and as an example of how seriously the events were taken see the extract from the Pittsburgh Despatch for 3rd December below.   Tracks had to be exact if big cash prizes were at stake for records set, and note also that runners could and did bet on themselves.

When the race came, Noemac finished eighth with 212 miles, well behind Hegelman  who won with 398 miles and 1610 yards.   That was the end of 1989.   

We started this section comparing his best six day race distance with the best of the twenty first century Scots, went on to the wonderful feat of 51 miles a day for 100 days and ended with a typical year’s competition for him.   We can stop this section here to catch our breath and start another page for the final third of his walking career – he went on racing into the twentieth century and we can follow that next.

Noremac was a professional Scottish pedestrian (ie professional runner) in the late 19th century called George D. Cameron.   He was a lithographer and like many very good distance runners he was a relatively small man – 5ft.3½ inches and approximately 8st.10lb.    Born in Edinburgh on the 18th of May 1854, he decided when he was a fairly young runner that if he were to stand out in the ranks of professional runners, he needed a distinctive name and chose simply to spell his name backwards.   He went on to stand out from the others by becoming a very successful ultra-distance runner and walker who competed successfully on two continents, wining huge amounts of money as well as commemorative championship gold belts.

The American Edward Payson Weston, of Providence, Rhode Island, the “father of pedestrianism” sparked off the “Pedestrian Mania” which reached its peak in 1879. Unlike the jogging and running boom of the 1970’s and 80’s which started in New Zealand with Arthur Lydiard and travelled across the globe to the USA where its main protagonist was Bill Bowerman, the long distance pedeatrian athletes started in the USA and spread from the Pacific West Coast of America to Europe and New Zealand.   It was one of the great sporting  of the Victorian age.

In his formative years as an up-and-coming “pro”, Cameron proved himself as a handy runner at shorter distances. Winning prize money of up to £20 at a time, he consistently finished in the frame in races ranging from one mile handicaps to 4-hour events over six days all over Scotland, which included events at the Aberdeen Recreation Grounds, the Powderhall Grounds and Royal Gymnasium in Edinburgh, the Shawfield Grounds in Glasgow and the Drill Hall at Perth.   For example, he raced in a six hours per night, seven-day “pedestrian contest” in Nottingham, which commenced on February the 7th 1880.    Then, it was back to London again, when, along with another notable Scottish pedestrian, William Smith, and as the 4/1 race favourite, Noremac starred in the six-day, twelve hours per day, go-as-you-please “Championship of the World” race at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, London, in September.  Noremac’s enforced retirement through injury would mean that the race would be won by George Littlewood, the “Sheffield Flyer”, who would later go on to beat the best in the world.

The reports that appeared in the dailies were fairly detailed as this one from halfway through his record setting Glasgow run in February 1880 indicates.

Glasgow Herald, 28/2/1880

But it wasn’t till the spring of 1880 when his long-distance career really started to take off. In late February, March and early April of that year, Noremac somehow managed to muster a straight hat-trick of victories in 72-hour (12 hours a day “go-as-you-please”) competitions beginning at Newsome’s Circus in Glasgow with a score of 357 miles,    The races were usually 6 twelve hour days with results published by the local, and at times national, papers daily.   The final result of the race at Glasgow was as in the following extract from the Glasgow Herald.

I

‘Smith’ is mentioned above and he was a most interesting character whose story is told by Alex Wilson at http://www.anentscottishrunning.com/william-cutty-smith/  –  and the race is told from his point of view as follows: 

“On 28 February 1880 Smith took part in his fourth 72-hour race in as many months at Newcome’s Circus in Glasgow, but this time he failed to reproduce the form he had shown towards the end of 1879. With a total score of 337 miles, he had to settle for third place behind Edinburgh’s George D. Cameron (aka Noremac) and Peter McKellan, who made 357 miles and 348 miles respectively. With the six-day craze now in full swing, Smith did not have to wait long for the next competitive opportunity to come along: a 72-hour go-as-you-please at the Edinburgh Royal Gymnasium on 29 March. There were eight participants competing for total prize money of £70 and the winner was to receive £40. The track measured a 125 yards per lap or 14 laps to the mile. Suffice to say that Smith was unlucky: during the first two days he suffered not only constipation but also unbearable pain in his right leg, necessitating the application of a cast. Despite all this, he still managed to cover 158 miles before finally discretion prevailed over valour. Consequently, he played no part in the best 72-hour race ever, a thrilling encounter in which Noremac triumphed over Davie Ferguson in front of a home crowd with a sensational score of 384 miles”

.

In March  he ran in Perth, in a race under the same conditions, where he won again, covering 344 miles, and won easily.   From there he went to Edinburgh where  he was a competitor in a similar even held between March 29 and April 3.   And won again , in a new world record of 384 miles, Ferguson was second, with 376 miles (the track being 125 yards in circumference – ie 14 laps to the mile –   he ran 3728 laps).   

His next race was on 5th June in Arbroath at the Arbroath Recreation Grounds, in an eighteen-hour go-as-you-please race, running three hours every night, when he again took first prize, with a record of 120 miles.  He was in action again later in the month when be was a participant in a twenty-six-hour, go-as-you-please, race: four hours a night at Aberdeen, again finishing first, with 204½ miles.   Then in July of the same year Noremac ran in a twenty-one-hour go-as-you-please contest, three hours a night, at Falkirk, and again he won again,  having run of 160 miles. Then he took in a twelve-hour run at Agricultural Hall, London in September and scored another victory, completing 73 miles 1 lap in 10 hours 58 minutes 36 seconds.   Heading back northwards, he went to Birmingham,  and took part in a seventy-two-hour, go-as-you-please race of twelve hours daily, between September 27th and October 2nd, winning again, with 380 miles 308 yards covered; Cartwright was second with 368 miles 1,720 yards: and S. Day third, 357 miles 412 yards. 

Cameron then travelled down to Bristol where, at the Rifle Drill Hall in October, he won a 14-hour, six-day, go-as-you-please race   The Bristol Mercury of 18th October tells us that there were 20 starters in the race which finished on the Saturday in front of 2000 spectators.   First prize was £50, second £20, third £10, fourth £5 with £3 going to every competitor who had covered 360 miles.   The result was: 1st Noremac 383 miles,  2nd  Day  380, 3rd Vanderpeer  346 miles, 4th Carless  320.   There were nine finishers.   

Back to Scotland and in a sixty five hour race, go-as-you-please, at Cook’s Arms, Dundee, Scotland, December 4 to 11 following, Noremac finished second, with 333 miles before finishing the year by making a new 72-hour world record of 384 miles in the Show Hall at the Royal Gymnasium in Edinburgh.    Noremac’s last mile, which was timed at 6m.30s. would secure him the £40 first prize money.   

In March, 1881, Noremac competed in the “Astley Fifty Miles Running Championship Challenge Belt” at Lillie Bridge Grounds, London, before setting sail for America (where his professional career was to really take off) accompanied by his trainer, George Beattie, the pair arriving in New York in June.   As a farewell competition, it was not a very successful one as this piece from the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic Life of 19th March indicates.

Alex Wilson tells us that “Like many Scots of the era, he left these shores to begin a new life in America. He settled in New York City and ran an inn called the Midlothian Arms not far from Madison Square Garden, which was then the centre of North American six-day racing. Shortly after arriving on American soil, Noremac showed his prowess in a six-day race with big prize money at New York’s American Institute Hall, commencing at midnight on Boxing Day 1881. Thanks to a consistent performance, he improved from seventh place at the end of the first day to finish second behind American Pat Fitzgerald with a Scottish record of 567.4 miles, winning $800 for his efforts. His daily totals were: 110, 213.2, 292.4, 398, 505 and 567.4 miles. To give an idea of the caliber of this accomplishment: no Scotsman has ever surpassed it, indoors or out.”

A few months later, Noremac was in the starting lineup for a major six-day race at Madison Square Garden that began at midnight on February 27, 1882. It would go down in history as one of the greatest six-day races of all time. It began with a phenomenal performance by Charley Rowell on the opening day. The Englishman thrilled spectators by beating his own world record for 100 miles with a fantastic time of 13 hours, 26 minutes and 30 seconds, and then covering an amazing distance of 150 miles and 220 yards in 22.5 hours. 

Noremac had won some big money prizes back home but what was to come was just in a different class of earning altogether.  In six days, in a hotly contested event in February/March of 1882 at Madison Square Garden, George Hazael from London, became the first man to break through the 600-miles in 6 days barrier winning $18,380 while Noremac earned a staggering $2,251.39 for finishing in third place.      Five months later, and on  31st July, 1882, he took part in the six-day go-as-you-please contest for the “Police Gazette Diamond Championship Belt” at the Casino in Boston, Massachusetts.   7000 people were there for the start of  the race.   Noremac also impressed in that one too. 

Noremac’s next big race, again at Madison Square Garden, took place in October, 1882. He again bettered his personal best by scoring 567 miles and 4 laps – a Scottish indoor record which still stands.   In modern times, the amazing Willie Sichel had several attempts at beating it but did not succeed – a measure of how good the run was.   

More about Sichel’s attempts at the start of Part 2 – along with some coverage of his 100 days challenge, with the end of his athletics career in  Part 3  .