By Davy Crockett You can read, listen, or watch On a summer morning in 1883 in midtown Manhattan, New York City, a young boy ran down 34th Street, getting the attention of a policeman. He cried out, “A man has killed some folks.”  Officer John Hughes ran with the boy to a new saloon that recently opened. There he saw a man, pale, and trembling. He found out that the man was George Noremac, one of the most famous ultrarunners/pedestrians in the country. Noremac led the officer up two flights of stairs to the apartment where he lived. On the dining room floor lay two dead bodies, Noremac’s young wife, Elizabeth, and his longtime friend and trainer, George Beattie. A revolver lay on the floor near Beattie's left hand. The murder and suicide occurred while Noremac was downstairs, but his two young children, still crying, had sadly witnessed it all.  How could this have happened? Get Davy Crockett's new book, Frank Hart: The First Black Ultrarunning Star. In 1879, Hart broke the ultrarunning color barrier and then broke the world six-day record with 565 miles, fighting racism with his feet and his fists. George Duncan “Noremac” Cameron (1852-1922) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1854.  He was the oldest of nine children. His father, John Cameron (1834-1902) was a lithographic printer, and George took up the same occupation. Lithography artwork was becoming very popular because it could create many copies of portraits for a reasonable cost. As a young adult George became interested in running in 1872 at the age of 20. His first achievement was winning a one-mile race in 5:13 at Powder Hall Grounds, Edinburgh, Scotland.  He quickly became recognized as one of the best sprinters in Scotland and would compete in various one-mile races during town fairs, always placing high. He improved his one-mile personal best to 4:21 and won three-mile races too. In 1875 at the age of twenty-two, George married eighteen-year-old Elizabeth Edwards (1855-1883). She was also born in Edinburgh, growing up in a large family of nine children. Her father was a pastry and candy maker. Elizabeth also learned the candy-making business. She gave birth to four children in Scotland, Alexander Edward Cameron (1877-1946) and daughter Jessie Brown Cameron (1880-1952), and two others who died as infants. Elizabeth was described as “a short, stout woman, with regular features, light complexion and pleasing manners, with blue eyes and brown hair.” Entering Pedestrianism Sport My new book! Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History In 1879, long-distance pedestrianism started to get intense attention in Scotland as Edward Payson Weston barnstormed Great Britain, putting on walking exhibitions and competing in races. With so many others, George entered the sport that year. He was a small man, ideal for long-distance running, standing only 5’3”” and weighing about 122 pounds. He decided to take on the stage name of “Noremac” which is Cameron spelt backwards. He did not originate the idea of using his transposed name as an alias. Other Camerons before him had also used the Noremac alias both in Scotland and America. George Hazael Noremac’s earliest known ultra-distance race came in July 1879. He ran in a 26-hour, outdoor six-day running tournament, at the Aberdeen Recreation Grounds in Inches, Scotland. Contestants ran four hours a day and six hours on the last day. It was put on by the 100-mile world record holder, George Hazael of London. “By the finish, an immense concourse of people had congregated within the enclosure, who seemed to take on eager interest in the competition, cheering one or other of the competitors whenever a spurt was made.” Noremac reached an impressive 156 miles. Noremac continued to win nearly every race. In January 1880, a two-day (12-hours per day) race was held at Perth, Scotland in Drill Hall. There were 23 starters. The track was very tiny, 31 laps to a mile.