The Washington herald., 1909-03-07
CRAZE IS DANGEROUS
Youngsters Should Not At
tempt Marathon Running.
MIKE MURPHY GIVES ADVICE
StrenuousneSS of sport Too Mach for
UAseveIOped AthIete-seriOus Re-
suits often Follow = Thorough
Training Is EssentiaI-MethOds of
Preparation for Distance Runs.

Nike Murphy, the greatest trainer OF
athletes in the world, has come out with
a warning to youngsters who have the
Marathon craze. says Bob Edgren, in
the New York World.
Murphy thinks that a race like the Mar
athon, which Is a strain for any fully
developed athlete. Is a little too strenu-
Gus for a boy or for any man who hasn'
time to train properly for IT, No man
should run distance races, Nike says.
unless ne has plenty Of timeSto run an
hour or two a day and TO sleep and rest
long enough 10 recuperate entirely-two
things that don't go together for any
schOorroy OF any m9p in business. He
thinks the Marathon running win inture
a lot of boys and young men who would
otherwise make their mark IN shorter
distances.
And Mike IS right. Every so-called
Marathon" run around New York this
winter has shown the wisdom Of his be-
lief. I am glad to note that in the Mara
thon run in the Fourteenth Regiment
games recently. every runner had to be
examined thoroughly by a physician be-
fore he could start If any runners
showed up with weak hearts or other
physical soft spots their entries were re-
scinded This is a result of the many
coIlapses in the last Sea Gate Marathon.
Requires Training.
It requires long and hard training TO
fit a man for Marathon. Anybody might
cover twenty-six miles at an easy pace,
but TO go out and run hard all the way
IS a different matter. It's a strain for
the best of them.
When the champions from all the cOun-
tries Of the world met in the real Mar
athon at Athens two years ago, a ma
jority Of them fell on the road. Some had
10 be brought back in automobiles. There
was a hospital tent AT the Stadium, with
n corps Of doctors, and they had busy
time
The Greeks boast that two of their
countrymen died-One while training for
the race and one after il They point
20 this as an indication Of patriotism
for the Greeks count the winning OF the
Marathon as one Of the worlds greatest
honors-one that any country may be
proud Of The victory Of Loues, Of
Greece, twelve years ago. made him as
famous among his countrymen as the de-
fender Of ThermOpyiae's Pass.
Keep Body Warm.
In training for the last Marathon. the
Greeks went out and ran their heads of
day after day. IN the race they found
the leaders cutting out a pace faster than
they had ever known. They hung on.
were run of their feet. and fell exhausted
one by one. This is hard work for
trained man, not 20 mention a half
trained schoOlboy.
The collapse Of DOrandO in London and
sgafn in Madison Square Garden, New
York. shows how great the strain is
DOrando was a weIl-trained runner, and
has no trouble az all in speeding fifteen
or twenty miles.
Murphy says: 'In training during the
fall AM winter months. be careful to
keep the body and the throat warm and
well protected. Running out of>doors
without sufficient protection is the cause
of most OF the cramps that lOng-dis-
tance runners suffer from -
Mike recommends plenty of work and
sleep and penty to eat, practice runs a
little shorter and slower than the race IT.
self, and warm clothing during and after
wOt sss-->itis.