Joseph Beal of Welburn Moor-houses, near Castle Howard, Yorkshire, ran two miles in nine minutes and forty-eight seconds, on the York race-course, the 9th September 1811, beating Isaac Hemsworth of Bolton in Lancashire. Beal is one of the swiftest runners in the kingdom, and he challenged all England for a four-mile match. The Lancashire men accepted it, and were allowed one month to find an antagonist, and one month for training him. The noted Abraham Wood was fixed upon as the competitor of Beal. These pedestrians accordingly started about one o’clock, on Wednesday the 13th of October. Wood took the lead, and kept it for nearly a mile, when Beal passed him with ease. Wood again headed his opponent, but before he reached the two-mile post, Beal passed him, and, keeping the lead, won the race apparently with ease, beating Wood about two hundred yards, and performing the whole distance in twenty-one minutes and eighteen seconds. Beal is a youth only nineteen years of age, five feet seven inches high, and weighs no more than nine stones and seven pounds.
To run a mile within five minutes requires great agility, and none but swift runners could accomplish it, yet that distance has frequently been performed in less time.
Mr. Wallis, a gentleman residing in Jermyn Street, ran two miles in nine minutes, at two starts, in February 1808. And on the 17th of the same month, a mile was performed at one start by Mr. E. Haslern, in four minutes and fifty seconds.—Captain Anning, on the 3d of March 1809, ran a mile in the same time near Hampton, having been matched against a man named Forbes, from Eaton, whom he beat by two hundred yards.—Captain Hewetson ran two miles on the Uxbridge road, on the 21st of March 1809, at two starts, in three seconds less than ten minutes, for a bet of fifty guineas.—A mile was performed in four minutes and ten seconds, by John Todd, a Scotchman, in 1803, who ran from Hyde Park corner to the first mile-stone on the Uxbridge road.
On the 2d of May 1809, a match took place in Bayswater Fields, between Captain Dacre and Mr. Dawes, for a mile. The bet was twenty guineas on the contest between them, and another twenty that the captain should not go the distance in five minutes. They started at the fire of a pistol, and ran together until within a hundred yards of the end, when the captain made a push, and won by about two lengths, the performance having occupied four minutes and fifty-six seconds.
Mr. Francis Martin, Tewkesbury, ran half a mile in two minutes and eight seconds, for a wager of one hundred guineas. The time allowed was two minutes and a half. Bets were two to one against him at starting, but he accomplished the task apparently with ease.
On Friday the 6th July 1804, a well contested match for a mile, took place between Lord Frederic Bentinck, and the Hon. Edward Harbord, for a bet of one hundred guineas. The ground chosen, was from the second to the third mile stone on the Edgeware road; and they started about three o’clock, P. M. The race was closely run for more than half the way, when Mr. Harbord, owing to superior strength, gained considerably on his antagonist, whom he left at a great distance behind. The mile was accomplished in five minutes and a few seconds. On Tuesday following, his lordship ran a match against Mr. Mellish over the Beacon Course for fifty guineas, which he also lost by about fifty yards; Mr. Mellish having performed the distance in thirty-eight minutes and ten seconds.
On the 1st of June the following year, Mr. Harbord again entered the lists as a swift runner, against Lord F. Beauclerk. They started in Lord’s cricket-ground; but the distance being only a hundred yards, and his lordship getting the advantage at first, Mr. Harbord was unable to make up in so short a space, and lost the match by two yards.—But he afterwards ran the same distance against Mr. Lambert, whom he beat almost without a struggle. On the 15th of July 1807, Lord F. Beauclerk beat the Hon. Mr. Brand in a short race, in Lord’s cricket-ground, the latter gentleman becoming quite WINDED[17] before he had run fifty paces.
The Hon. Colonel Douglas of the Forfarshire militia, is a swift runner. He accomplished a mile within five minutes, and has performed shorter distances with great celerity.
Curley, better known by the title of the Brighton Shepherd, is a swift runner for a short space. He ran a mile at four starts in four minutes, on Clapham Common, in October 1807. He was beat, however, by Grinley the boot-closer. They ran a match, in November 1805, of one hundred and twenty yards, on the walk leading to the gates of Kensington Garden, which was accomplished in twelve seconds and a half, Grinley beating his antagonist by half a yard. On the 25th of August next year, they again ran one hundred and twenty yards at Hampton Court Green, for a bet of one hundred and twenty guineas, which Grinley also gained by two yards, performing the distance in twelve seconds. Curley was more fortunate in a match which took place on the 22d of June 1807, with Cooke the soldier, whom he beat by two yards, on a distance of one hundred and forty.