Mile Championship
On 19 August 1865, Nuttall was among ‘the great milers of the 1860s’ who were gathered at Manchester’s Royal Oak Grounds to compete for the title of Champion Miler of the World, as well as the Mile Championship Cup. Nuttall led the first two laps in sixty seconds, then hit the half-mile mark in an unprecedented 2:05.5. The crowd cheered him on, but Nuttall’s pace was unsustainable. The race was eventually won by William Lang. Nuttall failed to finish the race, which suggests that he was only ever supposed to act as a pacemaker.