The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-05-08

kEOAua1t wv Akkk <k<xt1 W*tA " that most ciasuic of all athletic events the international Mhrathen. This VII be Ahe Hrsatest rscs of tts Kind ye' run. There ts purse Of &io,0oo fol
 which long distance sfunnsrs from 'all over the world win compete. This t1 another proof of the prevalence ol Marathonitis, . disease tbat first af' fected the Greeks nearly 500 years pe. fore the besinning of the chrfaiAn era, and which has recently optaineo secure grip on Americana in . man. ner without precedent in the annals oi arnateur sport ous this hemisphere.
 When Johnny Hayes. comparative Iy lesser. light in athletic circles in New York. carried the Stars eno Stripes to victory by winning the Mar. athon in the renewal of the anciens Olympic games in the London Stadium In 1908, he not only achieved everiast- ing glory for himself, but caused re- vival of interest h long distance run never known. Since the triumph oi Hayes nearly every city In this coun : try has had Marathon races.
 While 1t. wac Gsnerally conceded tnss the team from the United States would score an ovefwhslminG victory in the matter of points h the oIympiad. there was little detp-rooted confidence in the ability of the Americans to carry on premier honors In the most covetea race on the program. For years held and track sports of all sorts had been enjoying healthful development in this country, but the improvement In the class of long distance runners had been SO gradual that 1t was hardly con sidered likely that any American would be able to successfully match strtqea with the stars representing the na- tions that had for centuries made an especial effort to foster long distance running.
 creditable showing in the Maratnon' severai Americans went to the mark. The resuitlis hfstory-porando. faihns in sight of the goal while Hayes sped to victory. 1t was not until the eight ies that American track athletes pstted themselves against the English. My CTS and Merrill, in 1881. being pioneers in the movement that had it's culmina- ton in Hayes's achievement.
 While one of the oldest events on the athletic card. the MArethon race, was almost forgotten until the revival of the ancient games in an international athletic contest in Athens In fsss. These cotests were held in the. re- stored stadium that had existed before $50 B. C.. toward whose first erection patriotic citizens had contributed ev- erything from the gold of one to the thousand yoke of oxen that another gave, and whose seats were covered with marble slabs by Herodes as gift to the Pansthenaic festival Time and war and forgetfnlnesa had buried the Stadium. but in 1888 1t was partially excayated. and before these lntsrna- tiona1 contests 1t had been restored to its original design, the underground chambers for the athletes being the same as when first used 1000 years before
 There is the first athletic Marathon race was run in memory of that hietor- ic day 2.27e years before when one Philippides, an Athenian soldier. ran from the plains of Marathon to the pal- ace Tn Athens to tell the king of the victory of Miltiades and his Athenian and Platean freeman over the. msrce- naries of Darius. The runner dropped dead at the feet Of his ruler, so history and tradition. assert. The city acccrd- ed htn every civil and inilitary honor, his body lying in state tp the Capitol for three days Among the most an cient pieces of sculpture IS that or the dying Marathon runner.
 Marathon Hes, on the northeast eoA9t of Attica. There the worship Of Apoir boasts that Hercules was first wor- shipped there. On the battIefield is a mound, or sorcs, where the ls2 Athen- Ian dead were buried after the batr tie. It was from this historic place that the course of q novel race WAS as near as history could show. the path taken by Philippides., and neasuring twenty.six miles and sss yards. On the day of the new Marathon the King of the Greeks was to receive the run- fier as did his predecessor. though this time S0,O00 people waited, know ing, for the coming Of many runners. The fact that the runner was Spiros Louces, son of "a peasant of Attica. brought forth the greatest applause of the whole contest. and enthusiastic ehrcniclers aver that the great shout rolled ofk against Mount penteliteus on the ono side and Mount Hyn1ettus On another as did the joyous acclamations of the people of twenty-five centuries before.
 popularity after this until the London event last year, though it was hoped ai the time of the Buffalo Exposition that fhe stadium erected theRe might re main permanently, and the Marathon, rim then under such climatic difficult, les. would become q biz oveut ~ future athletics. Hayes's winning act. ed as an Inspiration to the athletes oi America and club-men. school-boys ano college students immediately took to distance running, which. even now, IS comparatively overshadowfng. In pup iic favor. track contests ct shorter
 In this country the colleges exercise such a decided influence over athletics that the ciubmen copy the metnods ana 2 systems followed by the stuaslts. ans ns teams representing clubs depend larger ly upon former college men Ior tns'r reJt tommy Hayes has written many ar ticles on how to excel In the sport, pointing out especially that the most important quality in runner is dorged persistence in training. Many of fine greatest runners the world has ever known first took up the sport Tor exercisa alone, and It was on these nleasure runs that they discovered that thev could attain a speed great enough to enter races In nearly every city there are at present-clnps that were organized fo encourage Marathon run ming. Thouaands Of men ana poys. ,1hnt iDefores last year. never donned 2 s,,nT,tnr shoe. are now undergoing .srsr,ai courses in developing wind s,1T limh ir the hope of not only ini- proving their health. but becoming rrhA ,,s,lnl mode of training is to 1og . cos,uie of miles three times Q week on . good road until the athlete or his trainer feeis that he, ts sufiicientiy de- ,,aioYed 10 take longer distances, when ss = z ss.ynu.anaaS 10 20 ten or fifteen