Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-04-10
MOTORING BOWLING
FISHING BOATING
JOHNNY HAYES
WILL Be HERE
Famous Runner Tomorrow
Night In Auditorium.

All is In readiness for the twelve
mile running race between John J.
Hayes, the Olympic Marathon win
ner, and Al. Raines, to be held in
the Auditorium tomorrow night. The
appearance here of Hayes is attract
ing wide attention, in view of the
fact of his great victory Of 1903, and
Of his receptions as the worlds
champion Marathon runner that fol-
lowed. Seldom If ever before has a
victory in a running raee won such
~laurels and received such remonstra-
tons as did Hayes after he had con-
WINGED the world that he was the
champion runner at the h~eart-break-
ing and nerYe-racking Marathon dis
lance. That it is a most gruellhEs
!, distance will be admitted by every9
n who has ever tried to cover it
afoot. &
Besides the big race, there viii be-
two one-mile events. One of which,
will be open for all and one for1
three or four contestants.
Following is a portion of what
John j. Hayes has to say in his BOOK
on The Marathon Race:
The Marathon race, covering a dis
lance of about twenty-six miles, Is
considered to be the most gruelling
and heart-breaking contest ever de-
yised to test the speed, the courage
and the endurance of the athlete. It
was nearly 2,0o6 years ago that the
race received its Greek original. In
490 B. G. the Greeks debated the
Persians in the decisive battle OF
Marathon, about twenty-sfx miles
northeast of Athens. The Greek
runner, Phidippides, ran all the way.
to the capitol with the news of his
country's victory, falling dead as he
gasped out the words, 1--WE are vic-1
torious," and the Marathon race was
instituted to commemorate the enA
durance Of this hero.
The Marathon race. the supreme
event of the Olympic festival of
1908, will go down to posterity as
perhaps the most thrilling In tha
history of International athletics.
The finish was positively painful IN
its dramatic intensity. Dorando was
the first man to enter the gtadfums
but fell TO the ground from sheer
exhaustion and for q time It seemed
as though he would share the tragic
fate of the hero, Phidippides, who
carried to Athens the glorious news
OF his country's triumph at Mara
thon- A sigh of relief and deafen-
Ing applause went up as the runner
| was seen to rise to make q renewed
: attempt to reach the post. But to-
the dismay Of the multitude he rose,
only to fall again within a few yards
/, of the tape. The eznzxA4@
: estimated at over 186.666, dss1lE~
: these moments were painful to
, watch: strong men wept and ladies'
:, collapsed entirely. -Four times did
l the gallant little Italian fall to the
; ground, but with a supreme effort,
: and with the kindly. but mis1udged
> assistance OF officials and others on
the course, he was carried alon8
across the winning post, amid q DEM
, onstration of enthusiasm that was
never before seen on an English ath-
letio ground. The triumph Of the
Italian was short-liyed, a. the a.
sistance given him was plainly q
transgreseicn OF the rules and the
race was awarded to myself.
My first running was lone on the
Forty-second street hill, near First
avenue. There, about SIX years ago
the boys OF the nefghborhood used
to indulge In games of tag and from
the showing I made there I was In
duced by some OF my friends to take
up athletic training.
was born in East Efghty-eighth
L street, near First avenue, New
1 York, and had a natural attitude for
q sports, in which I INDUCED to the ex-
! tent of bicycling, skating and tag,
which combined to fit me for ardu-
GUS races that came after.
Hayes studied In St. Bartholo-
/ news gymnasium In the fall of 1909
, and began running the February
thereafter. He WAS chosen captain
of several running teams. In April
of the Int year he broke his novice
: In the Pastfme country race over
the Jerome venue course and won
the St Bartholomew six-mile cross
x country race from the two minute
D mark In thirty-two minutes and thfr-
ty-three seconds. On Thanksgiving
r Day of that "a he ran third in q
D field of eighty-eight IN the junior
metropolitan cross country cham
pionship at Travers Island. The
following summer he won many
events. IN April of the following
Iyear he competed In his first Mara
: thon race. finishing fifth. He then
decided to become a Marathon rum
ner. He ran In many races and in
1907 again competed IN Boston and
finished third to the r~edoubtabls
Tom Longboat, who won, after
breaking the record by five minutes.
He then proceeds to tell about
picking American contestants for
the Olympic Marathon. He explains
the race IN detail and tells OF his
world-renowned victory. He de-
lclares the Marathon race to be TO q
finish. as 1t is a distance that taxes
human endurance to it's limit.