From the Australian Centurions Newsletter
And talking of the 1000 Mile Walk, I have been swapping a few emails recently with Valerie and Peter Morgan of
Queanbeyan in NSW. Valerie is planning her own long walk in October/November in Canberra. I enclose the Fact
Sheet/Press Release that they recently put out.
The Origin of the 1000 Mile Walk
The intrepid feats of the redoubtable women walkers of the 19th century captured the imagination of the public
and the press alike. They were the trailblazers of women’s athletics, doughty characters who created a sensation
for daring to appear before the public. From 1816 on, a number of women from various parts of the world,
aged between 7 and 85 years undertook walks covering many hundreds of miles.
One of these women was Emma Sharp, a Yorkshire woman who having read an article about a gallant failed
attempt by an Australian woman announced to her husband, John, “Wah, could do that mysen. Yes, I can do it
and what’s more I will”. Brushing aside her husband’s protests, she set off in September 1864, in the sports
ground attached to the Quarry Gap Hotel, Laisterdyke, near Bradford, walking back and forth along a 120-yard
stretch. Daringly dressed in men’s clothes, down to a white waistcoat and laced boots. She was soon attracting
interest. As the weeks went by public curiosity grew phenomenally and upwards of 100,000 paid to watch her
and bet on whether she would make it. She took to carrying a pistol in each hand to deter anyone jostling her,
or administering chloroform. Before dawn on October 29, 1864, a crowd of 25,000 converged on the village to
witness the 5.15am finish. A man with a loaded musket walked ahead of Emma, for it was feared that even at
this late stage someone who had bet on her failing would attempt to stop her. Serenaded by the local brass
band, she completed her task in style, showing no distress, though for some days after, she slept almost
continuously. Emma achieved a walk of 1000 miles in 1000 hours.
Valerie Moran, a relative of Emma, is reconstructing her amazing walk undertaken to raise funds for SIDS and
Kids. Her commitment to this cause stems back to the fact that this is a family that has experienced SIDS first
hand with the loss of their daughter, Suzanne in 1966.
At that time there was no organisation such as SIDS and Kids and thus there was no support available to the
family. Val and her husband Peter lived with the uncertainty for decades as to why it happened, why it
happened to them and was there something they could have done different to save her young life?
The walk will occur at Lennox Gardens, Yarralumla in Canberra, ACT starting on Sunday, 7th October 2007
and is expected to be completed on Saturday, 17th November 2007. At Lennox Gardens there is a walking track
which is a 2.5km circuit. To complete 1000 miles in 1000 hours Val will need to walk approximately 40km per
day for 42 days. At the conclusion of the walk a gala event will be held in honour of Val’s achievement.
Val intends to undertake this walk to raise funds for SIDS and Kids ACT, and has set a goal of raising
$250,000 through sponsorship for her walk.
As the big event gets closer, I will be getting further information and am looking forward to seeing Valerie achieve
Thanks to Tim Erickson for the article
Planet Ultramarathon 
Posted on July 11, 2007 by planetultramarathon