O "întrecere pe jos" pe distanța București-Pitești-București în anul 1896
A marching competition: Bucharest-Pitesti-Bucharest, 1896

Summary/Abstract: In 1896 Constantin Comescu, author of The Hunter's Handbook, 1875, undertook the organization of a marching competition along 222 kilometres, from Bucharest to Piteşti and back. Swimming between the cold shoulder of the upper- class snobs and the enthusiastic support from influential personalities of the day, the idea eventually took shape. Over 300 competitors turned up on May 12, 1896, of whom 22 finished the race. A trumpeter in the military came in first place. As a spicy detail, no solid food or milk was consumed during the race: everybody went for wine or brandy! The echo of this national competition, the most consistent of its kind by that time, encouraged participation of Romanians in similar international races. The name of globe-trotter Dumitru Dan, for example, stands out on a Guinness Book page for a remarkable world record: 96,000 km on foot in six years, across 76 countries on five continents! The world of sports has recorded further winning Romanian names in the international marching events in the former half of the 20th century: Trandafir Rădulescu, Vasile Firea, Dumitru Paraschivescu. Theirs were sporting achievements for any country to be proud of.

• Details
• Contents