What does “walk for a wager” mean in “A Fisher of Men”?

Question

In "A Fisher of Men" in Dr. Thorndyke's Case-Book by R. Austin Freeman, Dr. Jervis was digging the earth with his friend, while they saw a stranger man coming along the path, then that man was for the moment hidden from them by a bend of the path and a near clump of bushes.

At this moment the stranger reappeared, walking as if for a wager, and I began to peck up the earth with my pocket-knife.

I searched for its meaning, but I didn't find anything that I can understand in this context!

https://www.lexico.com/definition/wager

http://susannaives.com/wordpress/2014/03/1819-play-bills-from-the-theatre-royal/

Answer 1

Competitive walking, known as ‘pedestrianism’, was the forerunner of today’s walking races. Per Wikipedia:

Pedestrianism was a 19th-century form of competitive walking, often professional and funded by wagering, from which the modern sport of racewalking developed.