Stevens County tribune. (Morris, Minn.) 1877-1880, 1879-05-22
Risk of Athletic Work.

WnaC T1SkS, Then, docs Tile yOuLn run
who puts. in two, three, or more years at
severe athletics, frequently, either when
practicing ''on time" or In his various
races, dong his very utmost, and coming
in at the end thoroughly exhausted, and
with nothing left in him9" If, either by
inheritance or years of vigorous exercise
before his racing begins, he starts into it
with 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 tsbumping" 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 OF
two of these requirements Jared in a sud
den and severe test of his strength and
endurance may be seen from the case of
one of DR.. Morgan's patients, not a uni
versity man: "HeS was compelled
to carry heavy sack of corn
for considerable distance without having
the opportunity of 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
rush of blood to the head, and fell
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 case Of aneurism OF
the heart was induced by the exertions of
boat-race, but says intemperance was
the cause, and asserts "unhesitatingly
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 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 a
great while before his best race. been no
toriously Incorporate; while the, stroke
oar of a winning crew, in hard race
near New York City in 1877, had some
time before had delirium tremens. The
carrying of the sack of corn was probably
not harder work than is frequently done
in boat-race. The writer once carried
a northumberland fifty pound man on
his shoulders around the Delta at Cam
bridge, said to be a third of mile and
forty yards, and did not find it as hard as
the last mile. of one or two stiff races, or
that he was ever the worse for it.
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--Or, sometimes better yet, any
physician who has made heart and lung
disorders specialty-can easily determ-
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
termine now, and admit or reject every
day. As to the latter, long and careful
preparation; then racing over short dis
lance, then over longer, until the
desir9d length can be done without dis
tTess, and he finds that between efforts he
is none the worse for them-these will
aid him to a conclusion If before any
youth could row or run race he were
compelled to be examined as to his Or
ganic fitness by some competent physi-
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, it
would go far toward reducing the physical
risk to minimum, if not quite doing
away with it. But SO long as half
grown, half-developed youths can 90 into
hard rowing contests with no better quail
lhcatlon than just because they wish to.
and fellows plainly weaker even than they
can run helter-skelter in sharp and irving
foot-races, and against formidable antago-
nlsts, with great crowds to egg them ON,
so long there unquestionably will be risks
tor the persons so 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 vet 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 chief, risks
one lncurs In turning athlete. Not a few
men have managed to safely pass each
but II the experience of every athlete
could be frankly and fully told, there is
too much reason to think that the large
majority, however they may have
escaped the first, have generally
failed to avoid the other two. And
if in the place of these alluring but fire.
quently hazardous contests, daily vigor
GUS work could be done which would le
the man stop when he was REASONABLE,
tired, and before the risk begins, instead
OF keeping on to exhaustion, and if tina
work could be so chosen as to build il
parts now weak, and to daily for brie
period give the heart and lungs and al
the muscles alike hearty but not strainin.
work, there is. little doubt that instead O
interfering with more important duties
itWould aid in fulfilling them; that in
stead OF neglecting some muscles of tn
man and developing others abnormally,
would symmetrize him and make hin
strong all over; and that he need neve
fear permanent injury, because he ha
done nothing to invite it.