Atlas Obscure is a constant source of seemingly pointless information (I love it). Today I learned that Trail Days, Thru Hiking, and FKT are not entirely modern inventions. From this AO post we learn that 200 years ago competative and demonstration long distance walking was all the rage in England, with clubs, gambling, drinking, celebrity athletes, parties, cheating, crowdsourcing, arrests for disorderly conduct, etc... I guess we've not really come all that far.
atlasobscura.com/articles/pede…ism-george-wilson-walking
atlasobscura.com/articles/pede…ism-george-wilson-walking