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A Runner’s Initial Preparation

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Athletes, and writers on athletics generally, would seem to have generally agreed on a rough division of the various classes of pedestrians into three, viz.: Sprinters, middle-distance and long-distance runners.

To my mind, however, this appears to be a far too rough generalisation. For to class as sprint races all distances up to and including the quarter mile, as middle diatances all from the quarter to the three-quarters, and long-distance races as being anything above that limit, would suggest, first, that a 100 yards champion ought to hold more than a fair chance as s quarter-miler, end a mile man to be invariably endowed with the same amount of stamina as a ten- or twenty-miler-propositions which will scarcely bear the teat of examination.

I would, therefore, suggest as a more reasonable division the recognition of no leas than five classes of running men, i,e., SPRINTERS-MEN capable of travelling over any distance up to 300 yards at full pelt (for I do not believe that any man can do this for a greater distance); QUARTER-MILERS, who are a clan apart, being sprinters possessed to some extent with almost enough stamina to become distance runners, but with greater speed than is necessary for these latter; SHORT-DISTANCE RUNNERS, i.e., racers who are best suited to any distance from the quarter to 2,000 yards; MIDDLE-DISTANCE MEN who possess speed and enough stamina to last them over four miles; ; and LONG-DISTANCE RUNNERS, who, relying more especially on stamina, can exceed that distance in-definitely.

At first sight, it might appear as though this suggested rearrangement were purely academical; but to my mind it is well worthy of serious consideration by all pedestrians.

There has been so much discussion lately about the alleged decline of British athletic prowess that it is surely worth considering whether there be any grounds, either for the fact or the allegation.

Personally, I am not disposed to think that we are deteriorating. We have perhaps passed through a few lean years, and have in consequence been compelled to Yeild possession (temporarily, as I believe) of some few of our long-cherished athletic wreathe. These trophies will, I am sure, all return to us sooner or later, but in order to make assurance doubly sure in this respect, I should be glad to see our athletes devoting more attention to specialisation.
Let each of our running men, for instance, make up his mind, after due and full experience, if necessary, which is his best distance, and then let him lay himself down to the training and perfecting of his powers therein. For it must be admitted that since human nature has not been constructed to stand the strain of a sustained “ “burst” “ for 440 yards, it is unwise for a sprint runner to enter for a race of that distance.

All his training and most of his experience has habitu-ated him to start off as fast as he can, and to keep going as hard as possible until he reach the tape, so that his instinct will inevitably urge him on to a similar attempt (or to something like it), despite the fact that by so doing he is bound to “crack up” more or less at some time or other during the fourth hundred.

One-mile and four-mile races are again, run under such totally different conditions as to practically preclude a runner from excelling at both, while a two-mile and a ten-mile race demand each of them such distinct methods of training and running as to render it absurd to class them together

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