St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-02-24
flor the Children.

Very few boys know how to run.

Very few boys know how to run.
fHO, no - say dozen boys. "Just
bring Oh the boy that can run faster
than | can -
But, stop a moment. | don't mean
that most boys can't run fast-I mean
they can't run far. | don't believe
there is one boy in fifty, of those who
may read this, who can run a quarter
of mile at a good smart pace without
having to blow like porpoise by the
time he has made his distance. And
how many boys are there who can run,
fast or slow, full mile without stop
ping9
1t hardly speaks well for our race,
does it, that almost any animal i'll ere
alton that pretends to run at all can
Outrun any of us
Take the smallest terrier-dog you
can find, that is sound and not pup
py, and try a race with him. He'll
beat you badly. He'll run a third fast
er than you can, and ten times as far,
and this with legs not more than six
inches long. | have hound so active
that he always runs at least seventy
five miles when | stay a day in the
woods with him; for he certainly runs
more than seven miles an hour, and if
| am gone ten hours, you see he must
travel about seventy-five miles of dis
tance. And then, good hound will
sometimes follow a fox for two days
and nights without stopping, going
more than three hundred and fifty
miles, and he will do it without eating
or sleeping.
Then, you may have heard how
some of the runners i'll the South Afri-
can tribes will run for long distances
hundreds of understanding dispatch
es, and making very few stops.
| make these comparisons to show
that our boys who can not run mile
without being badly winded are very
poor runners.
But l believe l can tell the boys
something that will help them to run
better. | was pretty old boy when |
found it out, but the first time | tried
it | ran a mile and "A quarter at one
dash, and | was not weary nor blown.
And now Pm going to give you the Sc
cret:
Breathe through yOW nose!
| had been thinking what poor run
ners we are, and wondering why the
animals can run so far, and it came to
me that perhaps this might account for
the difference, that they always take
air through the nose, while we usually
begin to puff through our mouths be
fore we have gone many rods. Some
animals, such as the dog and fox, do
open their mouths and pant while run
ming, but they do this to cool them
selves, and not because they can not
get air enough through their noses.
| found once, through IA sad expert
ence with pet dog, that dogs must
die if their nOstrils become stopped.
They will breath through the mouth
only while it is fOrcibly held open; if
left to themselves they always breathe
through the nose.
So, possibly, we are intended to take
all our breath through the nose, unless
necessity drives us to breathe through
the mouth.
There are many other reasons why
we ought to make our noses furnish all
the air to our lungs. One is, the nose
is filled with a little forest of hair,
which is always kept moist, like all
the inner surfaces of the nose, and
particles of dust that would otherwise
rush into the lungs and make trouble,
are caught and kept out by this little
hairy network. Then the passages of
the nose are longer, and smaller, and
more crooked than that of the mouth,
so that as it passes through them the
air becomes warm. But these are on
ly few reasons why the nose ought
not to be switched off and left idle, as
so many noses are, while their owners
go putting through their mouths.
All trainers of men for racing and
rowing, and all other athletic contests,
understand this, and teach their pupils
accordingly. If the boys will try this
plan, they will soon see what Il differ
ence it will make in their endurance.
After you have run ii few rods holding
your mouth tightly closed, there will
come Il time when it will seem as
though you could not get air enough
through the nose alone but don't give
up; keep right on, and III a few mo-
ments you will overcome this. A lit
tie practice of this method will go fan
to make you the best runner in the
neighborhood.- TheO. B. Wilson in
st. Nicholas.