During the early 1900s, nearly every “around the world on foot” walker mentioned a wager as their motivation for making the attempt, similar to  Jules Verne’s Phileas Fogg’s wager in his 1847 novel “Around the World in 80 Days.”

Beginning about 1904, a new twist emerged. Some of the globetrotters claimed that they were part of a race or competition with others to be the first to circle the globe on foot within a certain period. Such a competitive event created a stir of interest when walkers came into town. Wow, it sounded like the  modern-day “Amazing Race” reality show.

One common thread involving these race claims was that they were organized by the “Touring Club de France.” Did this organization really get involved in Pedestrian races? One participant in such a  race was a famous Romanian globetrotter, Dumitru Dan. Numerous articles about him in recent years claim that he was the first person to walk around the world and he is considered a Romanian local hero. Was he truly a participant of a race and did he really walk 63,000 miles around the world as he claimed? For the first time, this will be examined closely.miles around the world as he claimed?