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Alfred A. Shrubb, Champion of the World. A Brief Word Sketch by J. Murray

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ALFRED A. SHRUBB,

CHAMPION OF THE WORLD

“The Little wonder;” as he has been so frequently styled, is probably the most extraordinary athlete the world has ever seen. To look at him, you would never imagine that he was anything out of the ordinary.

He is just a slim built, slight, almost flimsy looking little fellow, but on closer examination you discover that he is wondrously beautiful in make. There is not much of him, it is true, but what there is of him in of the finest possible quality.  The muscles of his legs are small in circumference, but, on the other hand, singularly long, and, owing to his small bulk, have little or no weight to carry over the ground.

It is the upper portion that bothers one.  True, it is in proportion to his lower limbs, but the mystery which assails the observer is the difficulty of discovering where he packs all his lung power away.
This must be prodigious, or otherwise he would never have been able to successfully perform all the wonderful feats which he has chalked up to his credit.
In fact, the only conclusion which one can come to is, that he must be the most scientific and at the same time the most scientifically trained, runner who has ever taken to either the track or cross-country.

His action when running has been described as being the moat ugly in existence. This is not a fair definition by any means, but is nevertheless worth quoting, since it emphasises the individuality of his style.

Whether it be or not ugly is a matter of but little importance. There are no canons in existence by which it can be judged, that is to say, canons of running art, or at least if there are I have never heard of them. There is. or rather has been, an accepted style of covering the ground, and Shrubb’s does not conform to that style. That is all.

Future ages may possibly decide that Shrubb’s style is like the Venus of Milo, in that it was not invented in accordance with the canons, but, on the contrary, that it invented them. For the present we may safely say that there is Shrubb’s and that there are other styles. Prettier, perhaps (which is a matter of taste), but certainly not so effective.

Born at Slinfold, in Sussex, on the 12th of December, 1878 he first discovered that he was in any way remarkable as a runner by easily beating a fire engine, which was tearing along to a fire some three or four miles away. Shrubb was first, the engine second, and the other runners nowhere.

Fired with ambition, he prepared himself for his career on the lines which he has laid down in this book. His closest companion in that fire engine race was F. J. Spencer, the champion of the local club, the Horsham Blue Star Harriers, which club Shrubb joined in 1898, his first race being for the mile handicap, in which he was conceded 66 yards by Spencer, beating him by 80 yards, and winning the race in 4 min. 38 secs.

In another mile race, three weeks later, he bad to give Spencer 60 yards start, and yet won by 26 yards.

In the same year he entered for the Sussex County Championships, and carried off the mile, three-mile, and four-mile events, much to his surprise and delight.

Since that date his career can only be described as a blaze of triumph, with the exception of having to rest content with third place in the four mile championship at Stamford Bridge in 1900, when his comparative failure was entirely due to inexperience, although when it is mentioned that the first two places were occupied by Messrs. J. T. Rimmer and C. Bennett and that Shrubb was only 20 yards behind Rimmer, it wasn’t such a terrible defeat after all.

To attempt to describe his various feats would occupy too much space, but it may be mentioned as evidence of the versatility of his powers that he won the following English championships: :-
The One Mile in 1903 and 1904; the Four Mile in 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904; and the Ten Mile in 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904; that he won the Southern Cross-Country Championship in 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904; the Interna-tional Cross-Country in 1903, 1904; and the National in 1901, 1902, 1903, and 1904.
Besides all these he is the holder of n tremendously long list of records, as witness:-
2,000 yards, 6 min. 7 1-6 sees.; 1t miles, 5 min. 37 sees. (world’s amateur records); 1 1/2 miles, 6 min. 47 3-6 sees. (British amateur); 1 3/4 miles, 8 min. 21 sees.; 4,000 yards, 10 min. 67 3-6 sees. (world’s amateur); 2 miles, 9 min. 9 3/4 sees. (world’s professional and amateur); 2} miles, 10 min. 42 sees.; 2 1/2 miles, 11 min. 66 sees. ; 2 3/4 miles, 13 min. 10 sees.; 3 miles, 14 min. 17 3-6 sees. ; 3} miles, 16 min, 43 sees. ; 31 miles, 16 min. 67 2-6 sees.; 3J miles, 18 min. 12 4-6 sees. ; 4 miles, 19 min. 23 2-6 sees.; 4 1/4 miles, 20 min. 60 2-6 sees.; 4 1/2 miles,
22 min. 6 3-6 sees.; 4 3/4 miles, 23 min. 23 3-6 sees. ; 6 miles, 24 min. 33 2-5 sees. (all world’s amateur and professional records).

Besides these, he holds all world’s amateur records from 8 to 7 3/4 miles, and professional and amateur records from 8 to 11 miles, in times which are stated elsewhere in these pages, together with the world’s amateur records for 11 1/4, 11i, and 11f miles, and also for the hour. Even these have not been enough for “the little wonder.” He has the 2-mile grass record, 9 min. 17 sees.; the 3-mile grass record, 14 min. 22 2-G sees.; and the 4-mile grass record, 19 min. 26 4-5 sees., as wall, and, what is more surprising, every one of the above records was made as an amateur. Surely a most exceptional list.
Shortly after these last had been established, events occurred which gave rise to considerable discussion at the time, but which need not here be entered upon, adjudicating upon which the A.A.A. saw fit, in their infinite wisdom, to declare Shrubb a professional runner, and in this capacity he made his debut at Olympia, in a two-mile race against Sid Thomas, D. Chivers, and Fred Parkas. There was a most desperate finish, in which Shrubb got home first by a yard in 9 min. 36 1-b sees.; not very marvellous time, perhaps, but remarkably good, considering the track.

Since that date he has run in all parts of the world, against all sorts of athletes, in all sorts of races.
He has even run against a horse. This was a celebrated local trotter named “Patsey,” and the race, a tea miles course, took place on the Riverpark track at Winnipeg, in Canada.
They started level, and kept so until the last quarter-mile, when, in a desperate finish, the horse won by 16 yards. Shrubb’s time was 62 min. 20 secs., a long way behind his beat, but it was nevertheless a most marvellous performance.

Perhaps his greatest and hardest race was against a relay team of five Americans, each of the latter running two miles against him, Shrubb running the whole distance. This took place on the 16th of January, 1908, and is perhaps the most remarkable feat in track history. All the Americans were well known local runners, and reckoned about the beet in their district, and yet, despite the conditions, only one of them (the fourth) succeeded in getting the better of the little marvel. This man, Curran by name, gained half-a-lap on him in the two miles, but as he had then been running six miles, while Curran started fresh, and as all the other Americans lost at least a lap each in their relays, very little credit went to any one save the Englishman, whose feat may justly be considered as simply unique.

With all his laurels, Alfred Shrubb in s singularly modest man. He is quiet and unassuming, well aware of his powers certainly, but by no means convinced that they cannot be eclipsed.
Certainly, no runner can point to such a career all his, and it may well be questioned whether his career will ever be equalled. W. G. George’s alone can be compared with it, and Shrubb has even achieved the seemingly impossible by eclipsing even George’s fame.
He has won innumerable cups, pianos, plates, shields, clocks, and other prizes of every description, many of these having needed three consecutive wing to annex. The total value of his amateur prizes alone probably approaches, if it does not exceed, ^2,000 so that he will have plenty of heirlooms to bequeath to his descendants.

May he bequeath to his country a worthy successor to his fame, and while that successor is developing, may some reader of this book take advantage of his precepts, and preserve the laurels which he has gained, securely within these shores.

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