Norwich bulletin., 1912-02-03
BoNHAG's RECORD SKATERS
 ONE ATHLETIC THEORY
Great Running Star Has Gone Far Be-
 yond the Four Year Limit.

George Bonhag is the greatest long distance runner on the American con tinent today. He has beaten records galore year ill and year out since 1904, and at the present time he is shatter- ing an athletic theory that has long been recognized as fact. That theory Is that the athletic life of a set of leg muscles is just about four calendar years, and that runner is pretty near through after he turns A summers. George Bonhag will be 30 years old on the S1st day of this month, says a writer in the New York Globe.
 The reader on looking over the above statement will at once seek to call to his mind some runners who have done fine work at 30 years or even further on, and quickly comes the thought: Ali Shrubb. Yes, Shrubb was good, and very good, at 30, and good at 34, but not the real Shrubb by any means. It must be remembered too, that Shrubb was a distance marvel-a running ma chine even more perfect than Bonhag. He was one in ten thousand
 How does Bonhag retain his form? This Is a question that you will see answered often in the sporting columns but 1t has never yet been answered to the readers entire satisfaction. Some
  enough, he is a very clever fellow, but so are hundreds of others-some honor graduates from our big colleges-who try to equal his wonderful running feats, and fail
 Others say that Bonhag's prowess on the path is due to the superb care be takes of his body. The same an sWer goes here. There are hundreds of youths who take much better care of themselves than Gentleman George does, but not one of them can follow his pace for the first 1000 yards of a two mile race.
 Bonhag is clean liver. but he may be said to be burning the candle at both ends. He works hard in an office all day, runs at about 5.30 in the after noon, and goes to school at night-alto- gether pretty busy day. The only evenings he has to himself are Satur- day (on which night he often has a hard race) and Sunday. Bonhag does not use tobacco or liquor, but he is not over careful about his eating, ex- cept on day when he races.
 Neither is Bonhag particular about getting long supply of sleep ration. He often overstays his leave when training in the local armories One evening just before his race with Louis
 
 sports George ran a swell trial in the armory of the Brooklyn artillery or ganization and tarried so long talking 1t over with Coach Robertson that it was B. m. when he hit the hay at his home in the Bronx When he defea ted Scott few nights later in worlds rec ord time Bonhsg ran as thought he had enjoyed 10 hours sleep every night for & year.
 The element In Bonhag's running makeup that is overlooked by most persons, and probably has as much to do with his success as anything, is the supreme confidence that he enjoys in himself It's confidence, not conceft. understand. When George goes to the mark in condition-and we have sell dom seen him run when otherwise he dopes but his race on schedule of time that he knows will cause the other fellows legs to go back on him before the finish is reached. He never runs unless he has first found out that he can run to schedule and that's all there is to it.