St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-01-17
ON SWIFT RUNNERS.
A New and Exciting Sport Proposed as q
Part of the Coming Carnival
Festivities.
Speed Skating" as Practiced in England
Wherein It Differs From Other
Skating.
! Peculiar Runners and an Inclined
Foot support PreferabIe--The
Worlds Champion.
A Pen Picture of the Racing in s'the
Fens''--It Could be Done in
st. Paul.

''One Of the finest Of winter sports, and
one that could easily be made part OF the
carnival program, is speed skating" said
Mr.. John j. Bullard, whose home was once
in England, to a GLOBE reporter the other
day. Mr.. Billiard was very enthusiastic
over this sport, and as an answer to ques-
tiOns he gave something of a description OF
the sport, as it is carried on in England.
lie said ''for the past century it is fact
beyond dispute that the champion speed
skaters of England, without a single eX-
ceptiOn, are natives of either Cambridge
shire, Huntingdonshire, Lincolnshire OF
Norfolk, four counties denomnated THE
Fens." Their typographical features al
fording through their levelneSs and extent
much Of our prairie appearance in minia-
ture, and being well inteTsected by rivers,
canals, ETC., whose streams are largely aug
mented by q system or dykes or bitches
similar to those now in use for Trigating
purposes in India and Egypt to-day. Hol-
land also produces some of the best speed
skaters, alike deriving their fast racing
qualities to this identical cause as one i'm
portant feature so necessary to attain speed
of which l am about to treat, and it is to
these dykes or bitches, varying in width
from six to twelve feet. and averaging. say
eight feet, that offer facilities to become
fast skaters, partly because their narrow
ness makes 1t compulsory for the skater to
take nearly straight strokes. thereby losing
no ground by curving, which any skate of
the club or roller type renders impossible
and secondly, the dyke being cut perfectly
straight, the learner speedily accustoms
himself TO control his skates with a degree
of alacrity which wider body of ice
renders unnecessary"
In the four counties most of the natives
use what is called The Runner Skate ,
which instead OF being higher on the steel
at the ball of the foot
ARE PERFECTLY LEVEL,
from heel to toe finishing with curve
similar to a toboggan, but slightly more
elongated. The steel in the English run
ner, although not SO narrow as in the
Dutch. is considerably narrower than most
club patents. Fred Smart is the champion
speed skater of England, his best mile hav-
ing been made in 1880, when Smart made a
mile in three minutes, and that to-day is
the worlds best record. He was selected in
January. 1885, to represent England at the
International skating match at Friesland,
Holland. but because Of previous indulgence
ln the cup that cheers. although racing the
fastest heat,Of the day. he was eventually
defeated. His brother emigrated last year
and is located in the Eastern states.
Another important feature to speed skaters
is TO know how to place the skate on the foot
to insure as little deviation from straight
line as possible. This is made easier and
surer by being careful to place the steel
three-fourths of an inch nearer
the olg.toe' as this obviates the necessity
of curving, thereby unquestionably assisting
the skater to make much straighter line
than is possible from skates fastened In the
center of the foot, a speed skater making
thirty to forty feet on each alternate foot on
full strokes.
TO stranger speed match, although