Evening star., 1909-02-28
MARATHON RUNS
BEING OVERCOME
Long Distance Event May Be
Eliminated From the
Olympic Games.
By Edward r. Bushnell.

if SO it will be due TO the present in
temperate craze for this extreme long dis
tance running and the professionalizing
of so many Of our leading amateur run
ners. This is Indicated by a remark made
recently to the writer by James f. Sulli-
van. the president of the Amateur Athle-
tic Union, in discussing the modern craze
Mr.. Sullivan's declaration was that If he
had a vote on retaining or disseminating
the Marathon run on future Olympic
programs. he would vote for it's abolition
because of the professionalism it has
been responsible for among amateurs.
And this Is sentiment that is felt in
many other quarters.
That Marathon running is being sadly
overdone and that 1t presents a serious
problem for the athletic rulers of this
and other countries cannot be doubted
Former amateur stars are making them
selves wealthy by turning professional
and putting to commercial use the repu-
tations which they made only because
they were amateurs. Practically all the
Marathon runners who have achieved
great fame within the last few years
have deserted the amateur ranks and
are now manipulating long distance races.
not for the sake Of sport, but for the
money they can make. This spirit Is the
father of crooked dealing and little good
Is to be expected from the PROFESSIONALS
Ing OF this sport.
A glance at what former Marathon
heroes have done is sufficient proof of t..e
statement that Marathon running is now
IN precariouS condition.
Sherring, the winner of .she Marathon
at Athens in 1903, deserted the amateur
money as testimonial from his Canadian
friends. Dorando, the Italian hero of the
1908 Olympiad. virtually became a pro-
fessional the day after he had the honor
to stagger first into the great stadium.
He was followed into professional ranks
by John Hayes, the American. who was
later adjudged the winner. Then Tom
Longboat. the famous Cana0ian Indian,
the winner of innumerable Marathons in
this country and Canada. succumbed to
the temptation. He was followed by
Simpson, also a Canadian Indian, who
finished well toward the front in the
London Marathon. Now it is reported
that Svonberg the Swede who finished
ranks.
1t is evident to any intelligent person
that If theMarathon run is to remain on
the Olympic program II will require heroic
efforts on the part of the Olympic council
to prevent debaSing 1t for commercial
ends. From the earliest days this race.
because of its historical associations. has
been regarded as the most desirable one
to win on the entire Olympic program.
This is shown by the fact that the Amer
lean people made more Of the victory OF
Hayes than they did over the immeasura-
BILE greater service OF N. w. Sheppard,
who scored more points than any other
man on the American team. Athletically
the Marathon victory was no greater
achievement than victory in any of the
other runs 1t was merely the popular
and romantic interest attached to it that
caused 1t to be magnified out Of all true
proportion.
Because of it's historical association the
Olympic committee Is loath to abandon it.
But it is this very element which is re-
sponsible for the dangers which surround
1t. There is no doubt that, mindful Of the
immense free advertising victory in il
would give the individual and the money
that could be made out of it afterward
many person would train for and enter
the race as an amateur for the sole pur-
pose OF converting it to professional pur-
poses.
How to prevent the mercenary debase-
ment of this race is the problem that the
Olympic council must solve. It is evident
that no rules can be devised to check the
evil. and 1t Is doubtful II sentiment would
be strong enough to have any influence
on the athletes when confronted by the
temptation. If the members of this coun-
ell could be induced to drop the event the
but since this country is the center of the
Marathon professionalism 1t is doubtful
If the foreign delegates would see the evil
as 1t Is seen in this country.
Hurtful to Youngsters.
Another evil OF almost equal magnitude
IS the spread Of the Marathon craze
among the boys and young men of the
country. 1t Is extremely doubtful if half
the men and boys now training for these
runs are fitted either by nature or train
ing to compete In them. An inexperienced
man has no business in taking up Mara
thon running without the advice Of an
experienced trainer.
What makes the danger the more acute
Is that many Of these runs are promoted
by individuals or organizations. and for
the sole purpose Of advertising them
selves. The benefit to be derived by the
athletes is either secondary or not consid-
cred at all. In some cases hundreds of
young boys are running distances of from
ten to fifteen miles. M. c. Murphy, the
famous coach of the American team. and
who PROBABLY knows more about the evil
effects of this sort of athletic dissipation
than any other living trainers, Is very bit
ter against this sort of thing. In dis
cussing the subject with the writer he de-
clared emphatcally that five miles was
the limit that any school or college boy
should run. unless he were able to devote
his entire attention to 1t.
Columbia Five the Champion.
In spite of the fact that there is no
such thing as an intercollegiate basket
ball league Columbia University is en-
titled 10 the championship. With the eX-
ception that there is no meeting between
Cornell and Yale. all Of the colleges which
formed the league last year have met
each other as usual, and, reckoning the
number of games won and lost according
to the usual method of figuring percent
ages the New Workers. are undisputed
champions To date Columbia has not
lost game against either the colleges in
the association or those without.
There seems to be good reason for the
belief that Columbia, the eastern cham
pion, will meet Chicago, the western
title holder. in an effort to bring the ma
tional championship back to the east. A
year ago the University Of Chicago de-
feated Pennsylvania. the eastern title
holder. in two games straight. though by
very close scores. Columbia Is extremely
anxious to win back this title.
There Is considerable discussion right
now over the relative value of the new
and the old rules to produce cleaner play
ing. That the amended rules tend to per-
nit a more scientific game there is no
doubt, hut it Is open to question whether
or not they discourage roughness. In the
account of nearly every big game this
year find the words describing it as
lone of the toughest games ever played
throws an element of doubt on the cleans
ing properties of the new rules
Clean and unclean playing seem to be
more attributable to the players them
selves and the officials. IT may be taken
for granted that the players will put
forth their best efforts to win. Their tend
ency toward unnecessary rOuphneSs is