Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-08-21

Also Engines. Boilers. Corn and Feed Grinding hulS-
combining himself solely to one form of athletic
exercise. At every outdoor athletic meeting
see runners with poorly developed arms, while
in the gymnasium we see athletes with under
! sized legs. II may be safely stated, however
that in no case men of such physique first-
| class performers, while on the other hand, can
| recall no champion runner who has not, in adj
! dition to his strong legs stout pair OF arms
! Before man can make a success as q specialist
in athletics he must, like the specialist in medi-
| cine, have a general basis for his future work.
The first thing. therefore. that the boy
| should do, in whatever branch Of
athletics he may desire to excel. is
to build himself up by general athletic work,
the whole system. Let him take part in foot
| ball and baseball; let him and swim, AMI
| not imagine that if he wants to become runner
puttn big PAIR OF arms and shoulders on
! himself will make him slower by giving his legs
| just so much extra weight to carry in race.
! These sports for summer. Then in winter he
| can go into the gynasiUm and wrestle and spar,
| Jump and vault, turn and swing, and use Indian
| clubs and dumbbells. My own experience has
| satisfied me that this is the best course, and
am regular attendant at the gym IN
! winter as | am the track in spring and fall,
| And even while training for the Eastern cham
| pionship at Traver's island, used almost daily
| to four five miles.
So much for the "ail round" work. which is
| to give general strength. In addition to this
we of course to take certain amount OF
practice in running itself. To begin with
will want what is by courtesy termed suit. Tie
quarter-sleeve jersey and pair of muslin
elk running drawers reaching to the knees, the
whole weighing about four and one-haif ounces
my ''suit' weighs quarter ounce less. Then
with pair OF running shoes-the most impor-
tant part of your dresS-your outfit Is complete
The shoes should be the regular spiked article
worn by all athletes, aud it Will be good idea
for you to get accustomed to them, after which
they will be found a wonderful improvement
over slippers, preventing you from slipping
keeping you on your toes, and lengthening your
stride. You can get good pair ready made for
Nd sN-Ga- FRaw~N 11TrNgF
4 pair should last you at least four mouths, but
when you once begin racing you Will want a new
pair for nearly every race My bill Tor running
and Jump ng shoes in the course CT yeRr usu-
ally amounts to about $50.
If you can practice on regular running
track, where you will have the benefit OF dress
ing rooms, baths, ETC.. much better, but
these are not absolutely necessary. | have
trained in level field where there WASH t any
thing like a running track and have also
taken my practice barefoot on the beach along
the seashore. While this training affords sutf-
Cient preparation for distance running, it is
likely 10 make one tritie slow, adding strength
at the expense of speed. For ''sprinting,'' that
is. rapid, short-distance running, firm,
springy track must be used.
Natural inclination will determine for you
whether you are likely to do best sprint
running, which includes all distances up to so
yards; middle distance running, which IN
cludes the quarter and half mile runs; at the
longer distances, mile and over Remember,
yourself to that form OF running exclusively,
heavy work, that Is, running on heavy
ground, running long dl stances, having the
same effect on 'sprinter' that handling heavy
dumb bells would have acrobat-muscls
would be cultivat eli at the expense of speed and
activity You will find sprinting the easiest
kind of running, but you should not attempt
more than forty or fifty yards at first, and
should never even after considerable training
attempt more than l20 or $50 yards. Few OF our
best athletes even after years of practice
run 20 yards dash through at top speed.
For long distance running endurance is, OF
course, the all-important factor, speed alone
not being sufficient to win mile race. But in
the middle distances both staying power and
swiftness are required, and 1t Is the unusual
combination of these qualities which is re-
Quired to quarter half mile that makes
this form of running more difficult than either
of the others.
While, as I have before stated training for
the sprint" should exclude heavy work.
we must bear in mind that in a distance
when runners of equal endurance and pluck
meet, the better Splinter of the two will win. 1t
is excellent idea, therefore, to cultivate your
speed, however ordinary it may be, to as high
point as is consistent with your distance work
l have seen more than one race won in the last
twenty yards by an athlete who though not as
strong as his opponent, had just a sufficient
turn OF speed to win at the finish
striking confirmation of these two facts that
practice in sprnting enables one to do better
performance in the distance. while too much
heavy work detracts from ones speed, is afforded
g. Downs of Harvard Last year Downs
the intercollegiate championship in the half
mile, and the champio nship OF the Eastern
United States IL the same event while at the
same meeting l took the quarter-mile runs.
When the present season opened Downs, whose
weak point in quarter-mile runninSs had been
his inability to make a fast finish, developed his
speed by continuous sprlnting. And l. who
thought that could run fast enough, but lacked
only my rivals staying power, developed en-
durance by long distance work. Imagine the
result! When we met at the intercollegiate
and Eastern championships again, Downs de-
feated me in the quarter, taking the very
cham pionships which 1 had the year be-
fore, while turned the Ia bles on him by taking
both his half-milers.
The amount of work you to do on the track
should be small, running being one OF the most
arduous forms OF exercise. Twice, or three
times week on the outside, is sufficient. And
then sprint only short distances; run the quarter
and half only at moderate pace, and il you at
tempt much mile make the gait so slow
that there can be no possible chance of over
exertlon. III you md yourself firing, and the
finish is yet distance off, don't let pride or
pluck keep you running, but stop, and next
time you attempt it let it be at even an easier
pace.
Dietetics-The question OF what you shall eat
and what you shall drink is one with which you
need not concern yourself for some years 20
come. Any kind OF well cooked, healthful food
may be eaten, and all you need avoid is such
rubbish as candy, pastry, and the like.
do not al all approve OF = boy running in
race unless he is at least sixteen seventeen
years old he is to look upon his work now
simply as preparation for running later on.
and not consider il part of his career
athlete any more than he looks upon his work
at school part of his bus mess or professional
life.
discouraged il you are not successful in winning
prizes and breaking records. Remember that
the end and aim OF athletics is not TO run 100
yards or a half mile fractional part OF sec
health and recreation, and this object you can
attain, though you may not be able to become
evsn = tnird-class performer on the track