There were people who walked for a living. From what I can gather George N. Brown, challenged people to walking when he was not in a championship. He was called the 'Worlds Champion Heel & Toe Walker'. (As a side note he also invented a water walking machine called the called the Finger Lakes Flivver - but that's another story.) The Edmonton Bulletin on June 19, 1916 announced that he had met his match. In a group of men that had challenged was a man who had walked thousands of miles on snow shoes and prairie trails - James Cornwall, also known as 'Peace River Jim'. The race started and for the first eight laps it was very even. Brown kept up with his opponents and gave the impression that he was allowing them to keep up with him. One opponent, Lieut. Clark, was described as being built like a kangaroo, with long legs, was the first to open up a few feet of distance between himself and Brown. Jim Cornwall started taking up the distance. He may have now known the heel and toe form of walking but he knew how to slide along in the good old-fashioned 'snow-shoe glide' style. To make a long story short the "world champion walker' finished more than 15 yards behind Jim Cornwall, the man from the north.