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Short “Distance” Races, Iincluding the Mile

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THE 1,320 YARDS.

The three-quarters is being rapidly relegated purely to the list of records. Unfortunately so, as I think, for it is a rattling good race, calculated to find out any man’s
weak spots. Still, it is worth training for, being a good preparation for the mile itself-a better one perhaps even than the 800 yards in for the half mile, the reason being that the third quarter is the worst of a mile race,and the point where most of the field are liable to crack up.

I suppose that there is a fixed limit to the normal man’s first wind in a fast-run distance race, and that is about the 900 yards, so that for the next 400 he is generally fighting for his second wind as it is called, and when the course in front of him looks every inch of another 860 yards he begins to despair of ever re-ceiving the reinforcement he is craving for. Over a long course of several miles the pace is naturally nothing like so great a cracker, and therefore a well-trained man hasn’t long to wait between the first and second winds, for I do not seem to recall any such trying period in my-long runs as the third quarter of a mile seems to b© to many milers.

In e 1,320 yards race, moreover, the bad time is the straight for home, so to speak, and few men are able to call up the necessary sprint while they are fighting for staying power as well. So they struggle and collapse-mute evidences of the punishing nature of the contest.

When training for the three-quarter mile I would advise going up to as much as one and a-half miles for steady work, followed, after a trotting rest, by a quarter-mile fast burst. Next do the distance itself at a good stride, and then, perhaps, a 1,000 or 1,200 yards at a shade below beat, with a 150 yards final burst. On the third day run a mile well within yourself, and sprint the last 220 yards. For the remaining three days vary between fast half miles, steady one and a-quarter miles, and good striding miles. Always sprint the last 100 yards or so home, and, if capable of so doing without staleness, add one or two other- longer sprints here and there. Train every day bar Sundays, and don’t fail (if you can possibly avoid it) to go for several long, brisk walks every week. It is hard work I know, but when you remember that the race itself will have to be run probably as a steady fast-run half

mile, with a punishing quarter to finish, you will under-stand that the hard work is absolutely demanded. Even if you don’t run a race at all you won’t miss such e training, as, spread out with intervening days of rest, it won’t make a bad initial training for the mile itself.

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