Book excerpt: For half a century, Edward Payson Weston was one of the most famous people in the English-speaking world as the first age of international celebrity unfolded. The godfather of the pedestrianism movement - a sport that took the Victorian world by storm - he criss-crossed Britain and America on foot earning fame, fortune and notoriety in an athletic career that saw him complete some of the most amazing endurance feats ever witnessed. The story of a dreamer, schemer and ladies man, who met with presidents and royalty, crooks and knaves, A Man in a Hurry is one man's athletic journey from the Gold Rush to the Jazz Age. With its colourful detail, historical context and readable style, the co-authors have skilfully recreated a vanished world to tell one of the most amazing stories in sporting history and provide an important addition to the sports literature canon.