Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-02-15
The Bunion Derbies

the case.
The Bunion Derbies
PYLE HAD great ideas but they
rentered on the financial angle Of
the snort. Runners came from all
corners cf the world TO take part
IL the big race. The winner would
nave A small fortune and those
finishing IN the money would nave
y grub stake for many years. ms
sounded great and il was heard al
over the world. How well / recaA,
for ! was the first TO enter the
Fast-WeSt trip. Yes and nov
lucky ! was that my friends per-
suaded me TO withdraw. Many
wished they had done the same. FOR
the torture Of the lengthy jaunt
was hard TO bear.
IT IS BELIEVED that coast-to-
coast runs arc a thing Of the past
for athletes have found that these
long erinds take much from the
hodv which even money cannot re-
place The athletes are now inter-
esfnd III shorter distances. IL IS
POSSIBLE that the coming Olympic
Games might have something 70 40
with this interest as no doubt there
will be more activity shown 10
track during the coming summers.
The marathon will interest those
who have Olympic hopes. The dis
n covered in this event Is 70
miles. 385 Yards. The Olympic rec
ord in this event was set by a
Frenchman. FL Ouafi. in 1928. The
time was two hours. 80 minutes and
81 seconds. The record in this long
distance haunt has changed little
since rs inception. In 1896, s.
Loues OF Greece stepped the mara
thon IL two hours. S. minutes and
20 seconds.
Nurmi's Records
PAAvO NURMI. famous Finn
who very nearly got IN Dutch
when on an exhibition tour some
time ago in the States. has taken
Olympic honors IN the 10000 meter
event twice for his country. This
distance Is nearly six and a quarter
miles. IN 1920 Nurmi covered this
distance in 81 minutes. As AS sec
onds. II the following Olympic
games. Nurmi's fellow countryman.
Willie Rltola. retained the honorS,
while i'm the last games, Finland
was stil supreme in this event when
Nurmi stepped II n the much
faster time az 80 minutes is and
As seconds.
MANY AMERICAN athletes are
turning their ewes tCsard the dis
lance events In the coming Olym-
pics. AT present. Ray Conger APP
pears very promising, but much can
happen on the cinderpaths and
boards in two years. Conger at
present Is turning back the dis
lance runners Of Europe and Amer
.ca. The outstanding feature Of his
work this season was his comeback
In defeating Or. Paul Martin. Con-
ger says he viii coniine his efforts
IN the coming Olymp.cs to the
shorter distances. such as the 500
and 1000 meter events.
DR.. OTTO PLLIZER Of Ger
many was q colorful runner and he
obtained results. He is credited
with holding - worlds record in
the following dicSnces. 500. 500,
1000. and $500 meters. His out
standing record is his time Of two
minutes. 258 seconds in the 1000
meter race.
Track Markers
THE COURSE used for cross
country races must be properly
marked and surveyed. In most
cases the start and finish Is the
athletic grounds 50 the spectators
may see both the start and finish
Il Is customary tc place rcd flags
10 the left and white ones 10 the
right over the course. The rules
state these flags must be visible
for az least 125 yards.
EXPERIENCE IS a great teacher
on the track. Runners should study
the good and bad points Of other
performers In order 70 impiNve
themselves. A new trackman should
always seek advice from the coach
and keep his instructions IN mind.
Next 10 natural ability. experience
IS the greatest help 70 a trackman.