ROUND and round they ran for hours on end, each determined to beat the other in one of the most bizarre athletic events Southampton had ever witnessed.

The year was 1927, the venue was the skating rink, then in Shirley, where 62-year-old veteran, long distance runner, Charles Walter Hart, was taking on any local athletes in a race covering 100 miles, which would last a day.

Charlie was quite a character and was once reported as saying: “I don’t smoke, I don’t drink and blimey, after the last budget I shall have to give up eating.”

Charlie was a professional runner who competed at the turn of the 20th century in very long distance matches.

For example in 1903 he contested the 15 hours championships and in addition he reputedly ran 2,000 miles in 31 days, while in the following year he ran from Southend to Glasgow and Edinburgh and back.

Amazingly, he also ran in several matches against men on horseback and was also a early pioneer of sponsored running.

He would run from one town to another for the purpose of advertising the products of a particular company.

On one occasion he ran from Southampton to Bournemouth, sponsored by a lemonade manufacturer, a distance of about 33 miles, and when not running such events, he would work as a baker.

With his reed-thin moustache, Charlie was five foot three inches tall, weighed 138 pounds and looked ten years younger than his age. He claimed he could half-walk and half-run “almost indefinitely” and he was the proud possessor of many athletic trophies and honours.

Charlie had accepted a challenge from Peter Gavuzzi, an Italian runner and crew member of the White Star Line’s vessel, Majestic, a liner, to contest the first 50 miles, and also from Tom Mitchell, Silas Jones and Tommy Ringshar for other portions of the full distance.

Peter’s father was Italian, his mother came from France and as a seafarer it seems he never quite knew where he could call “home”, however, he did have a great loyalty to Southampton as it was in the port he obtained his job at the age of 19.

Wherever he ran Peter always wore an athletic vest with the name “Southampton”, and later he and Charlie would often run together and share any prize money either of them won.

But 88 years ago, when the two athletes lined up for the start of the marathon at the Shirley rink the competition between the two runners was intense.

“Hart and Gavuzzi started at 7.15 am, and an official checking the laps and times informed our representative that the first 40 miles were completed in four hours and 20 minutes, at which stage Hart was five laps behind,” reported the Daily Echo at the time.

“The laps, he said, were nine to the mile and in the fastest hour’s run ten miles and three laps were covered.

“First 50 miles were completed by 12.29pm, when Gavuzzi won, and was seven laps ahead, which made his time, five hours and 14 minutes.

“He was given a cheer by the spectators, when he sprinted, very fresh, to the finish.”

Tom Mitchell then joined in to race the next 33 and a third miles stage against Charlie while Silas Jones and Tommy Ringshar entered the contest at a later stage.