The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-03-04
CUNNIN CHAM IN GREATEST RAGE
 AGAINST TIME
Kansan Sets 4:04:4 Mile Mark in Special Run
 at Dartmouth
By ROBERT WEBB United Press Staff COrreSDOndent)

United Press Staff Correspondent
 Hanover, N. H., March 4. (UP)- A soft spoken midwesterner, who some 20 years ago was carried from a burning Kansas school house and told that he would never walk again, was hailed today as the greatest mile runner in the history of com petitive sports.
 He is Glenn Cunningham. Driving around the fast Dartmouth track last night he clipped two full sec- onds from Sydney Woodersen's worlds record mark of 4:06.4 for the mile. The remarkable performance also took four seconds off his own official world mark of 408.4 for the indoor mile.
 Cunningham's time of 4:04.4 was the fastest for a mile ever run either indoors or outdoors. Cunning hams record, however, will not re- ceive recognition by the Internation- al Amateur Athletic federation as a world mark. The I.A.AF. recog- nizeS only outdoor marks. Indoor world standards at present are &C., tually American records" because this is the only country in which there is major indoor track compe- tition.
 It was Cunningham's supreme eff fort, an ultimate defiant challenge to the fates which had once cast him as a cripple to limp through life on f1ame-seared legs. This tri- umph was all the sweeter because he had worked so hard to achieve it.
 The several thousand fans who cheered from through the record smashing performance last night will remember 1t as one of the greatest thrills in sports. Everything possible had been done to aid the stout-hearted Kansan in reaching his goal.
 The Dartmouth board track, now universally recognized as the fastest in the world; the Dartmouth milers, who were handicapped to assist Cunningham; the lack of smoke and the great amount of heat in the gymnasium all contributed to Gun ningham's success but after all, it was the great fighting heart of the barrel-chested runner that smashed the record.
 Cunningham said he was never in better shape during his running career. He had smashed the worlds 1900 meter record in New York five days previous and was in such ex- cellent physical condition that he was satisfied to hold his form. He had done no practicing for several weeks and did none until an hour before the race.
 There was one false start when the gun did not go off but it was only a few moments before the field was away. When the first quarter was announced at 58.5. The crowd of several thousand students and townspeople roared their approval.
 The cheers of the throng grew louder as 2:025 was announced at the half mile post. The three quar- ters clocking was given out at 3:04.2 just as Cunningham came driving down the straightaway to start the final lap. When the last lap gun was fired, the entire audience arose as unit to help the modest run ner to finish his greatest race.
 Cunningham left Hanover people with the impression that he is more than the worlds greatest miles: that his great fight against obstacles should be an inspiration to the youth of the land. After the race he stood for an hour in his hotel lobby, autographing pieces of paper for youngsters while his dinner waited.