Captain Robert Barclay Allardice (1779 - 1854) “The Celebrated Pedestrian”
“1,000 miles in 1,000 hours for 1,000 Guineas”- Captain Barclay wagered with a man called James Wedderburn Webster that he could walk 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours, covering exactly one mile in each and every hour of every day and night.
- The event, held on Newmarket Heath between 1st June and 12th July 1809, attracted huge crowds and vast amounts of money as it was estimated that over £100,000, probably worth £40 million today, was gambled on the event.
- Captain Barclay was a remarkable athlete renowned for his outstanding powers of endurance and indestructible physique. Barclay was one of the strongest men of his time and was able to lift an18 stone man from the floor to a table with just one hand. However, it was his extraordinary walking feats that earned him his greatest renown and the title of the 'Celebrated Pedestrian'.
- His remarkable achievement in successfully winning his wager made him one of the most famous athletes in England at this time and also one of the wealthiest. The original wager was only for 1,000 guineas, but due to numerous side bets his winnings actually rose to over 16,000 guineas, over £6m in today’s terms.
- His diet while walking consisted of 5 to 6 pounds of animal protein per day and he kept well hydrated with numerous glasses of wine, ale, porter and cups of tea. Whilst walking, Barclay felt the need to take certain security measures to guarantee his safety especially at night. He carried a pair of pistols in his belt and employed prize fighter ‘Big’ John Gully to accompany him.
- Barclay’s average time per mile varied from 14 minutes 54 seconds in the first week to 21 minutes 4 seconds in the last week. He stopped only to have little rest breaks within each hour. Deep sleep was impossible and therefore Barclay would have suffered chronic sleep depravation. The effort came close to breaking him physically.
- Richard Dunwoody marked the 200th anniversary of Barclay's achievement by replicating the walk in 2009. It was a herculean effort by Dunwoody to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity.
