By Davy Crockett
After decades of 100-mile races, matches and successful finishes in less than 24 hours before 1930, the Great Depression turned ultrarunners’ attention to more important matters – surviving. Opportunities to earn a living as a professional runner dried up as public interest waned. Memories of past accomplishments and records faded. Occasionally the newspapers would pull out of their dusty archives a story about Edward Payson Weston’s walking wonders which was treated as “believe it or not” oddities, rather than something that others could accomplish.
But the spark of running or walking 100 miles on foot still smoldered during the next two decades despite the severe difficulties of the Depression and World War II. Isolated 100-mile accomplishments took place to remind the public what the human body could do, but 100 miles was still considered to be very far and out of reach by all but freakish athletes.
In England, Arthur Newton accomplished a new 100-mile record of 14:06 on the Bath Road in 1934 at the age of 51, the crowning running triumph of his career. (See part 6). Despite all the attention received on this occasion, Newton knew that others would come who would run 100 miles faster. He was convinced that breaking 14 hours was possible. Afterall, he knew that back in 1882 Charles Rowell reached 100 miles in 13:26:30, indoors on a small track in Madison Square Garden. Others did come, even during the tragic decades of the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Hardy Ballington
Hardy Robert Ballington was born July 14, 1912 in South Africa. By 1932, at the age of 20, Ballington emerged as promising new runner. In the early 1930s, a veteran runner, Vernon Jones, spotted young Ballington on a training run. He noticed that he had huge calf muscles and said to Ballington, “Young man, you ought to take part in the Comrades Marathon.” Ballington set his sights on running Comarades (54 miles).
He did, in 1933, and finished in a surprising 4th place with 8:01. The following year he won the Durban Athletic Club Marathon in 3:08. But he soon put his concentration on the ultra-distances and believed he could win Comrades. He would become one of the greatest of all the Comrades champions.
In 1933, Ballington joined a field of 85 runners in the 13th edition of Comrades. The weather was poor with rain and freezing wind. By the half-way point he was running in third place. He fell behind some as he stopped to change his shoes. But soon he took charge of the race and passed the leaders climbing Botha’s Hill and quickly extended his lead. “Wearing a sweater as protection against the rain and cold, Ballington forged ahead in the closing stages. There was no stopping him. Comrades had a new great champion.” He became only the second runner after Newton to break the seven-hour barrier with a time of 6:50:37.
Ballington’s success continued, winning Comrades again in 1934 and 1936. During the depression era, he became known as the world’s greatest ultra-distance runner.
Ballington’s London to Brighton Record
Newton and Ballington
In 1937, Ballington skipped running Comrades and instead wanted to go after Arthur Newton’s 50 and 100-mile records that he set in England. Newton was the driving force behind Ballington’s attempts that were sponsored by News of the World. Ballington traveled to England in April with his expenses paid for him. Newton paid special attention to Ballington, escorting him by bike on his training runs. He logged an astonishing 1,100 miles on training runs in one month.
At the special May 22, 1937 London to Brighton running race, eight runners including Ballington competed. The 24-year-old ran steady, to his own schedule, crewed by Newton. “He maintained practically the same pace throughout. A head wind and rain made conditions extremely difficult for the great part of the way, but he showed no signs of fatigue and finished with a very strong sprint.” After he crossed the finish line,
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