Walkaway

Like his old father before him, who was Queen Victoria's favorite walker, Bert Couzens cannot keep his feet still. At eleven, he strolled from London to Colchester (about 50 miles); three years later he was fired from his chemist's apprentice job for walking off one day to see friends at Walton-on-the-Naze (about 70 miles). Now 47, Bert Couzens has lately been doing some serious training -- 50-mile strolls three times a week--for a man-sized walk.

Last week, around a track near London where racing dogs joined him on Thursday and Saturday nights, Bert ambled along at a casual gait until he had walked an even 1,000 miles. He rested as little as possible, slept in a little hut off the track, ate crab sandwiches and tea, went wandering off his beaten path occasionally--once to see himself in a newsreel. He smashed to bits a 137-year-old world's record of 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours; his time was only one-third that.

One-track-minded Bert Couzens, who has never married, is now working up to a 2,500-mile walk. Says he: "Women and athletics don't mix."

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