Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-25

gymnasium Actresses was so universal in Eng
land. that, though we'll developed be-
low the waist, the upper portion OF
the body was neglected and inferior. On
the contrary, in this country some twenty years
or more ago. the few who engaged in physical
exercise were finely developed III the chest an
arms. but much lacking III the legs. This is
easily accounted for by the fact that all the
English sports with the exception of rowing
tended to develop the lower portion of the
frame while in this country all men We're so
eager in pursuit of tickle fortune tirat no time
being allowed for field sports. gymnastics were
substituted by those who had any regard for
their physical welfare. Before regular con-
tests on the track were introduced many feat5
of road walking and mountain climbing were
performed. Clubs were formed especially IN
England, for the purpose of walking, and many
so-called Alpine clubs have been started here
for the purpose of lndulging IN mountain climb
ing. Some of these clubs include ladies, and
it is notable that in England women think little
of brisk walk OF 10 miles.
About 1876 walking took q great start in both
this country and England. Six-day contests
were instituted and the public went wild over
the sport. and, although this particular form
of contest seems in recent years TO have lost
interest somewhat. walking races of shorter
distances are still very popular. To one not ac-
customed to witnessing athletic contests the
styles of travelling as exhibited By trained ath-
lets In walking race seem very grotesque and
and must be acquired to attain speed. There
are few. TO be sure, who do acquire a some
what natural style, but as a rule walking con-
tests seem ludicrous to the uninitIated.
Men who are fond of walking for pleasure
often imagine that they have attained great
speed, and not having a knowledge of what
trained athletes do they think that because
they can walk faster than their friends they
can make name for themselves in the arena.
The action of the modern walker being
essentially an acquired one no such speed as
has been attained can be accomplished in the
ordinary mode that is natural to human beings
Any one who can travel five miles an hour on
foot thinks he Is walking pretty fast To en-
athlete this would literally be saunterng, for
unless he could do nearly seven miles he would
feel that he had better keep out of competition.
Eight miles has been travelled within the hour
by a professional, and amateur has taken
but two minutes eight and half seconds above
the hour to cover the same distance.
TIE MODERN WALKER
in locomotion uses almost every muscle of his
body. The action of the arms and shoulders is
so great as to bring about profuse perspira-
ton in temperate weather. The leg motion is
hard to judge, for. although it is quite well IN
derstood what it should be, still only a very ex-
pert eye is capable of judging walking race
where the tendency is to lift, unfair walking
IS called The prominent points in fair gait
is that one foot must be on the ground before
the other leaves the ground, and also that the
knee shall be bent only on the leg that is being
put forward After the stride is made and the
foot is on the ground the knee must be kept
perfectly straight until it is off the ground
again. The action in making stride is almost
entirely from the hips and one foot is placed
directly in front of the other, in order
to lose no ground. One reason why walk
ing is so hard to Judge is that there is
such a variety of gaits and peculiarities Of
walkers that, even though they may be travel
ing in perfectly fair way. they appear 10 be
lifting. Walkers have also been seen who are
not walking fairly. but who impressed the
majority that their gait was fair simply by hav-
ing some little popularity which looks well. As
an incident of how opinions differ in this hne
it may be mentioned that Frank p. Murray.
who in his time was the best amateur walker in