Evening star., 1941-02-18
Fast Times Achieved
By lowed Athletes
Open TO Criticism
Racing Conditions Make
1t Tougher to Score
Against Watch
By JOHN LARDNER,

Special correspondent OI 1uo oval
NEW YORK. Feb. 18.-What about
the ethics of putting pace setter"
into a mile run to tow the boyG to
a record? Is it right? Is it honestP
Is it cricket? Those are the ques-
tions before the house today as the
indoor running season reaches flood
tide
The fastest mile ever run, indoors
or outdoors, was Glenn Cunning
hams famous 4:044 few winters
ago. on the springy pine track at
Dartmouth. This mark never has
been recognized officially-one Of
the reasons being that Cunningham
was paced by relays of suicide run
ners. whose motive was not to win
the race or even finish out the dis
tance. but to spur on the great Cum
ningham.
In other words, it wasn't race
at all-it was a successful stunt.
That raises the question which every
one in track circles Is asking or
lodging today: How much actual
difference Is there between Cum
ningham's stunt" and regular
competitive mile race in which a
pace setter gives up his life for a
record?
A couple of times a week these
DAYS, before the great crowds of
yelling fans, the milers are doing
their number-the men who passed
Cunningham by and challenged for
his place as master miller runners
like Walter Mehl, Chuck Fenske, Les
MacMitchell and John Munski.
Mile Is Real Magnet.
There is no doubt in the world
why the crowds pay money to see
these big track meets in Boston,
New York, Chicago, Philadelphia
and New Orleans. They pay to
watch the mile run. That's the
main bout. The rest is trimmings.
But the crowds not always are
satisfied with a good race in the
mile. They want record, and
sometimes they hoot and holler when
they get slow time for their money.
Obviously. they won't get fast time
In every race if the mile is truly run,
with every man trying to win. A
race like that is a duel of wits and
rating, the chief object of each run
ner being to cross the line first. A
race like that may be slow. 1t is
nodded and formed by strategy.
However, the promoters, obeying
the clamor of the crowd, have been
trying lately to supply fast time.
They stick the pace setter in there
and the moment they do so, they
give the race tinge of phoneyness.
Down deep in his heart, the runner
who jumps out and runs the first
half in 2:04 knows that he will be
spent and hopeless long before the
finish. He is not trying TO win the
race. He is stooging for the house.
Borican's Effort Useless.
Recently in Boston they injected
O fellow named John Borican into
the mile run. Borican is no miller.
He has a world of speed for half
mile. It's possible he could run the
mile If he adjusted his pace and
trained for it, but he is in no shape
Tor the derby distance this winter.
Last week he was strictly a come-on.
After running a fast half. he
dropped out and the rest of the
field plodded on to the finish. with
MacMitchell winning in good time
However, the crowd did not get its
record.
IF you ask me, says Chuck Fenske.
a qualified thinker on this subject
and one of the greatest runners of
the last few years. the whole busi-
ness of pace setter is a little fool
lsh, unless the man who sets the
pace is real miller who goes out
front with the idea of killing the
rest Of them off and winning the
race.
"On a good night, any one Of US
might do that. That's true running.
But its silly to put a half-miler
in there to make the pace-and it
Doesn't get results. because we don't
pay any attention, 10 him. We
l.noW he'll cook himself pretty soon.
W0rc Watching each other"
Mehl. MacMitchell and Fenske
e"c great runners. At their hottest.
they are all capable of threatening
the world record without pace
setting stooge Maybe the heat is
about to strike. and if so. fine. Your
correspondent has a sneaking yen to
see a record mile himself.
But not with somebody towing.