River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-05-22
Risk of Athletic Work.

Wave like long twisted hair,
And dies in silence ON the lips
Of lilies lying there Good Words.
Risk of Athletic Work.
What RISKS, then, does the youth run
who puts in two, three, or more years at
severe athletics, frequently, either when
practicing ION time or i'll his various
races, dong his very utmost, and coming
in at the end thoroughly exhausted and
''with nothing left in him." If, either by
inheritance or years of vigorous exercise
before his racing begins, he starts into it
with a sound and strong body,is carefully
and thoroughly trained for each contest
and takes an ample interval of rest be
tween his races, not racing every after
noon for fortnight, for instance, as in
the English dumping race, and if the
distance covered is not greater than men
of his calibre have usually raced over
with impunity, he propably does not run
much risk of bodily injury or of shorten
ing his life. How one lacking one or
two of these requirements Jared in sud
den and severe test of his strength and
endurance may be seen from the case of
one Of DIR. Morgan's patients not a uni
versity man: "He was compelled
to carry heavy sack of corn
| for a considerable distance without having
the opportunity taking rest ON the way.
| He was struggling to reach the end of his
journey, when he suddenly felt something
! give way within his chest; he experienced
a rush of blood to the head, and fell
down insensiblc. One of the valves of
the left side of the heart was torn from
its attachment. Death approached
with rapid strides" The doctor hints
| that this mans heart was not previously
| healthy, speaks of a case of aneurism of
the heart was induced by the exertions of
boat-race, but says intemperance was
the cause, and asserts ,unhesitatngly
that whenever by reason of some violent
strain an accident occurs, either to the
heart itself or one of its great vessels that
heart was not at the time in a perfectly
healthy state" 1t may be said that men
who have been Incorporate seldom turn
athletics, but one of the fastest scullers
America has yet produced had, not
great while before his best race, been no
toriously Incorporate; while the stroke
oar of Il winning crew. In hard race
near New York City in 1877, had some
time before had dciirium tremcns The
carrying of the sack of corn was probably
not harder work than is frequently done
in a boat-raco The writer once carried
northumberland fifty pound man on
his shoulders around the Delta at Cam
bridge, said to be third Of a mile and
forty yards, and did not find it as hard as
the last mile of one or two stiff races, or
| that b, 1.yac aX-or Tho .-,,pSa for II
But how Is one to know that his heart
and lungs are free from defect and that he
has strength and stay enough to risk his
racing with imPunity. His family
physician sometimes better yet, any
physician who has made heart and lung
disorders a speciality easily dcterm-
inc the former, just as many physicians
did determine it in the war, and rejected
men from the army, or as the examining
physicians of the insurance companies de-
tcrmine now, and admit or reject every
day As to the latter, long and careful
preparation; then racing over a short dis
lance, then over longer, until the
desired length can he done without dis
tIess and he finds that between efforts he
| is none the worse for them--thcSe will
aid him to a conclusion. II before any
youth could row or run a race he were
compelled to be examined rs to his or
~anic fitness by some competent physl-
clan, and summarily rejected if there was
any weakness; if, in addition, some per
son equally qualified to supervise made
sure that before the contest was entered
an adequate preparation was had. 1t
would 90 far toward reducing the physical
risk to a minimum, if not quite doing
away with it. But 50 long as half
grown, half-dcvcloped youths can go INTO
hard rowing contests with no better quail
itication than Just because they wish To,
and fellows plainly weaker even than they
can run hclter-skelter in sharp and trying
| foot-Taccs, and against formidable antago-
nists, with great crowds 10 egg them on,
SO long there unquestionably will be risks
for the persons 50 inIudiCious And this,
with the frequent destruction from ones
duties, and with one more thing, the only
partial development which any one sort
Of racing brings for not yet has the
single exercise been discovered which
brings into play all or nearly all the
muscles OF the body these are probably
the chief, certainly among the chlct, risks
one incUrs IN turning athlete. Not few
men have managed to safely pass each;
but if the experience Of every athlete
could be frankly and fully told, there is
too much reason to think tlat the large
majority. however ;hey may have
escaped the first, have generally
failed to avoid the other two. And
il in the place Of these aluring but fire
qucnuy hazardous contests, daily vigor-
Gus work could he done which would let
the man stop when he was reasonably
tired, and before the risk begins, instead
Of Keeping on to exhaustion, and if that
work could be 50 chosen as ~ brild in
parts now weak, and TO daily for a brief
period give the heart and lungs and all
tie muscles alike hearty but not straining
work. there Is little doubt that instead of
interfering with more important duties,
it would ala in fulfilling them; that in
stead Of peglecting some muscles of the
man and developing others abnomally, it
would >vmmetrizc him and make him
strong all over; and that he need never
fear permanent injury, because he has
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