Ultra distance running is a relatively recently popular sport, but it has a colourful history to match any of the more well-established sporting disciplines, beginning in the late 1860's to the present day.

1867 - 'Pedestrianism', the forerunner of ultrarunning, catches the United States by storm. In 1867, Edward Payson Weston (left) walked from Portland to Chicago in 25 days, captivating the nation. A rivalry quickly developed between Payson and Daniel O'Leary, a recently-immigrated Irish farmer, and this rivalry spurred a series of 6-day races which developed into a "Long-Distance Championship of the World". The events were enormously popular, with huge amounts of money being bet on the outcome, and the participants making as much money in real terms as sports stars today. First the race was a six day walk, but then later the competitors were allowed to run if they wished.

1879 - Fred Hitchborn set a new world six-day record of 565 miles for this event. Hitchborn was probably the first African-Americans to become a popular sporting hero. However his skin colour led to him recieving a lot of intimidation from spectators - the previous year he had captured the Rose Belt title despite being poisoned by a drink handed him by a spectator. In the early 1900's pedestrianism died out, as automobile racing took all the attention and sponsors' and bookmakers' money moved elsewhere.

1921 - The first Comrades Marathon was held in South Africa to commemorate soldiers who died during World War 1. This 90 kilometre long race has now become the world's largest race over marathon distance - such is the interest that the field has to be capped at a limit of 13,000. During the apartheid era, this marathon was notable for being one of the few events where people participated regardless of colour.

1953 - The London to Brighton ultramarathon was inaugurated. The race along a popular car touring route and became quite popular in the fifties and sixties. Among the runners in this race the 1960's was Ted Corbitt, a man who became known as the 'father of modern American ultrarunning' for his pioneering work in organising and measuruing long distance races.

1970's - The 'running boom' and the explosion on participation in marathons begins to spur a resurgence of interest in distances longer than the marathon. In 1973, the 24-hour event was revived and races were held in Italy, South Africa and Great Britain.

1977 - The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team was founded by athlete and philosopher Sri Chinmoy. Over the years it has become the world's largest organiser of ultra races, holding races in over 20 countries.

1982 - A party of British RAF officers embark on a 320km journey to test the feasibility of the original story behind the marathon - could the Greek messenger Pheidippides have really run all the way from the Battle of Marathon to Sparta in only 36 hours? They verified it was indeed feasible. The next year the Spartathlon was born, a yearly race along the historic route. This race marked the arrival of the incomparable Yiannis Kouros (right), who over 20 years has dominated ultrarunning in a manner not seen in any other discipline. In 1983 he won this race 3 hours and 15 minutes ahead of the next runner.

1984 - Yiannis Kouros sets 16 world records at a New York 6-day race, some of which which had lain unbroken since 1888 - the time of the great pedestrian races - smashing the existing records at every time greater than 12 hours. Later that year in the Sri Chinmoy 24 Hour race, he set a new world record of 177 miles, much of it run at a blistering 7 minute mile pace.

1984 - The Cliff Young Australian 6-day race was founded in Colac, Australia. This race is now one of the most popular races on the ultra calendar, and has been the scene for many memorable performances over the years.

1986 - The inauguration of the Marathon des Sables, a seven day race through the Moroccan Sahara. This is considered by many veterans to be one of the toughest events in the world. The race was one of many in which spectacular and gruelling terrain and climate were a major factor. Another noticeable example is the Badwater race in Nevada, which aimed to go from the lowest to the highest point in the continental United States over a distance of 135 miles.

1997 - The longest certified road race in the world, the 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence Race, is inaugurated by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. The course record is 42 days, set by Madhupran Wolfgang Schwerk of Germany. American Suprabha Beckjord holds the unique position of being the only person to complete all editions of the race to date (as well as the only female competitor)

2004 - Jesper Olsen wins the Colac Six Day Race - what was unusual, was that he did it en route through Australia as he was running around the world. In 2005 Jesper completed his circumnavigation, running 25000km over four continents over a period of 18 months, beginning and ending in London, England.

2005 - Yiannis Kouros continues a record breaking streak that has lasted over 20 years, setting a new 6 day mark. He currently holds records at distances ranging from 100 to 1000 miles and times from 12 hours to 6 days.