Practical track and field athletics

Front matter

Copyright^ .

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT

PRACTICAL TRACK

Contents

Introduction 9

Training In General 13

Sprinting . 17

Introduction

HE high place which athletic sports and exercises occupy in our national life is a fact not open to argument. While we very properly encourage all branches of athletics and follow with interest the careers and records of those who excel in each particular branch, it is peculiarly in keeping with what the founders of our constitution were wont to term "the genius of our institutions" that we should bend our best energies towards encouraging sports which are not restricted to a favored few, but are open to the people as a whole.

Thus it is fitting that track and field sports should occupy an important position in the domain of athletic exercises. Football is confined largely to the Universities and Colleges; baseball consumes a great deal of time, tennis and golf take time and money as well; but track and field athletics, to borrow an expression used by ex-President Cleveland in speaking of the ideal democracy, seem particularly designed to "give the rank and file a chance." Sufficient capital to purchase a running suit and a pair of spiked shoes, sufficient nearness to one of the many outdoor athletic fields or indoor gymnasiums and a spare hour somewhere in the course of the day are all that are required to give any one a chance

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to develop his latent possibilities at some one of the many forms of exercise open to him.

Tn addition the public at large probably does not appreciate that track and field athletics furnish a great opportunity for the development of brain as well as muscle. To take a concrete example, there is a prevailing and most erroneous impression that throwing the hammer is a sport which calls merely for the exercise of brute strength. A man who has never seen a hammer before spreads his feet wide apart, swings the hammer awkwardly above his head, and when he attempts to make his throw loses his balance and very often falls at full length, while the hammer is hurled a distance of some forty or fifty feet. At the other extreme we find a skilled performer like John Flanagan, the record holder, turning around three times at high speed within the narrow limits of the seven-foot circle and hurling the missile, with perfect control in every particular, some hundred and seventy feet. Between these two extremes lies the long course of training and practice, the gradual discovery of the different points which the athlete must acquire in order to become a successful performer. He must reason out for himself why the hammer is swung in a certain way and why the distribution of the weight of the body and the position of the feet bring about given results. In a word, while weight, strength, and physical condition all play their part, their relative importance is slight compared with the knowledge of how the throw should be made. The same rule holds good in all other branches of track and field athletics. It is

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doing the thing in the right way, the "knack," which counts. It is brain first and muscle next.

Again, there is the physical benefit that comes from a rational indulgence in outdoor sports. The whole tendency of athletics works for good. The athlete abstains from liquor and tobacco. He does not eat unwholesome food. Exercise, bathing, and rubbing down keep his body clean and healthy. At the same time his mind is filled with healthy, natural outdoor ideals. He is not growing old too fast in an endeavor to rival the pathetic figure of the London gamin who says, "I'm ten years old, but if yer goes by the things I know, I'm most a hundred."

Lastly, track and field sports are something more than mere pastimes. True, they are primarily a recreation and a consequent aid to the more far-reaching aims of our daily life, but running through them all there is_an undercurrent which calls forth and develops the same characteristics which make or mar us in affairs of greater moment. The athlete learns to appreciate the good qualities brought out in himself and his mates by actual competition. He learns to value the great quality of gameness, the spirit which fights on undismayed in the face of apparent defeat, and again and again at the last moment pulls out a victory. He learns to respect the rights of his antagonists and comes to realize that his individual success or failure is nothing compared to the success of the meeting in which he is participating, that he must regard the rights of the officials and the spectators, and that true sportsmanship, and not the desire to win at all hazards, is the spirit which should govern competition.

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In a word, then, track and Held athletics deserve to be encouraged because they are thoroughly democratic in character, because they furnish an opportunity for the development of brain and muscle, and because they teach a man how to control himself and how to conduct himself toward his fellows.

CHAPTER I. Training in General

T is a truism that no workman, however skillful, can turn out a perfect piece of workmanship unless he has the proper tools with which to work. Similarly, no matter how much knowledge of his chosen branch of sport a runner or a jumper or a weight thrower may possess, he cannot convert theory into practical results unless he is physically in good trim. This, then, is the first problem which confronts the athlete before he comes to the second and more important one of how to acquire proficiency in any given event. He must try to discover how much exercise, how much sleep, how much food and what kind of food he requires to put him in the best possible condition.

If any athlete should ask for a fixed set of rules by which to govern himself in these matters, the answer must be that no such rules can be laid down. Probably no two athletes are exactly alike in temperament and characteristics. If a trainer has a number of men in his charge he must make a study of each one and experiment for a time until he is reasonably sure that a certain course of exercise, sleep and diet will bring about certain results. After this knowledge is acquired training becomes a comparatively simple process. Many trainers of college and school teams, however, cannot seem to get this idea through their heads. The sweeping

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order will be given perhaps to a hundred men, "Sprinters practice half a dozen starts and then run a hundred and fifty yards at top speed" or "Quarter milers jog an easy half mile." The same amount of work is meted out to the squad just as if its members were all cut out on the same model and would respond to the demands made on them in exactly the same way. The fallacy of this course is obvious. Take the case of two sprinters, both capable of doing even time when in the best possible condition. A, we will say, is not very strong physically but has a highly nervous temperament which gives him great speed for a short distance. B, on the contrary, is strong and of a phlegmatic disposition. If the routine work which is given the whole squad of sprinters is hard, punishing work, B will doubtless thrive under it and at the end of several months be at top form, while A with equal certainty will be completely overtrained and unable to show anything like his real speed. If on the contrary the work is light, we shall find A in first-class condition and B entirely undertrained. The first rule to remember then is to make a study of individual characteristics and remember that nowhere more than in training is it true that one man's meat is another man's poison.

It is probably true that the average athlete is more apt to overtrain than to undertrain. He enjoys his work and is apt to do too much of it, making a possible gain in strength and endurance at an almost certain sacrifice of the feeling of spring and buoyancy which accompanies the very top of condition. When one is overtrained it is not always a mere matter of a few days' rest to put a man right again, but it often means a lay-off for weeks before the athlete recovers his form. If a man is training for an important event which is to take place on a certain day and has plenty of time to get in good shape for it there are two theories as to the best method of preparation. Some athletes believe in getting

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into their best form as soon as possible and then doing just enough work to keep themselves fit; others believe in working up their condition gradually, deliberately seeking not to attain their best form until the day of the contest. Both plans have their dangers. In the first case overtraining and the bad results following an enforced lay-off are to be dreaded; in the second the athlete may do too little work in the desire to keep on edge.

With regard to diet, individual taste must again be given some play, although not to such an extent as in the case of exercise. A good safe diet is probably somewhat as follows: For breakfast some cereal, eggs or fish, toast and fruit; for dinner, steak or chops, beef or mutton, with plain cooked vegetables, stale bread or toast, and ice cream or some light, well cooked pudding for dessert; for supper, steak, chops or chicken, dry or milk toast and boiled rice or stewed prunes. This is not of course a hard and fast diet list, and it may be varied in many ways, but it is pretty sure that nothing on this list will prove harmful to the athlete.

A few other rules which are almost self-evident may be noted to advantage. Plenty of sleep is a prime requisite, tobacco and alcohol are strictly prohibited and worry and nervous strain must be avoided if possible. Ice water must not be thought of. Plenty of good cool spring water cannot do the slightest harm as long as care is taken not to drink an excessive amount at meal times. A light rub down before exercising is beneficial and prevents the danger of straining a muscle, especially during the period of Fall training when the days begin to grow colder. A thorough massage after exercising is most beneficial and keeps the muscles from stiffening or growing sore.

On the day of actual competition it is important to step to the starting line with plenty of energy in reserve, and it is a good plan to cease work altogether or to be content with

is

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the very lightest practice for two or three days before an important meeting. Where the contest is one of exceptional severity, as, for instance, the all-around championship, a rest of anywhere from four days to a week is not too much.

After a season or two the athlete begins to discover for himself about how much work he needs to put him in good condition and consequently does not need to think so much about keeping in shape, but is able to devote more and more time to acquiring proficiency in the details of the event at which he is competing.

CHAPTER II. Sprinting

ioo Yards Dash, 93-5S., Dan J. Kelly, June 23, 1906. 220 Yards, 21 1-5S. B. J. Wefers, May 30, 1896.

HE term "sprint" or "dash" Is confined to distances which a man can traverse at top speed and includes any distance from the ten yards dash sometimes found on the program of indoor athletic meetings, up to about three hundred yards. The standard distances, however, which come to mind at once whenever sprinting istalked of are the one hundred yards dash and the two hundred and twenty yards dash.

The most important thing in sprinting is the start. The fastest sprinters are the men who develop their speed in the first thirty yards, and this faculty of developing speed early is due in a great measure to the start. Until within recent years all sprinters started standing up with the left f oot vn the starting line and the right foot some distance back, according to their length of leg. All this is changed now and to-day practically every one uses the low or crouching start, which experience has proved beyond all question to be the quickest.

The athlete begins by measuring about four inches from the starting line and there digging the hole for his left foot.

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— .

Plate i. 'on your marks !" t. f. keane, professional champion sprinter of

AMERICA.

The skilled performer is not satisfied with making a few scratches in the cinders with his spikes, although the novice often seems to regard this as sufficient preparation. The cinders should be carefully dug up with a small trowel or hoe for a depth of several inches at right angles to the direction in which the sprinter is going to run. The position for the right foot is found by placing the right knee opposite the middle of the left foot, and the spot where the right toe

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*•*

•111!

'get set !'

rests while the right leg is in this position is the place to dig the hole for the right foot. Both hands are placed on the starting line, with the fingers as a rule extended and the arms perfectly straight. When ready to start the right knee is raised from the ground, the body is moved forward, and the athlete is ready for the signal. No definite rule can. be laid down for the beginner as to the distance of the left foot from the mark and the right foot from the left. He

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Plate 3.

"go !•'

must practice different distances until he feels sure that he has got the best arrangement possible. A change of an inch and a half in the position of the left foot has been known to make a noted sprinter at least a yard faster in the first fifteen yards.

After the starter in a race has allowed the contestants a sufficient time to limber up and dig their holes he gives the order "Get on your marks," and the athlete assumes the position shown in plate No. 1. Next comes the command

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Plate 4. the first bound.

"Set" and the position shown in plate No. 2 is assumed. The weight must be well forward and the mind intent on one thing only, to spring away at top speed at the report of the pistol. With the crouching start there is no excuse for becoming unsteady and starting before the report of the pistol. Sometimes a novice, from excessive nervousness, will start too soon, and as a penalty he is set back one yard for each offense. Some athletes try to gauge the moment when the starter's finger is curling over the trigger of his pistol

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A TYPICAL START; TNTERCOLLEGI ATK GAMES OF TOX)2.

and to start just before the pistol is fired, when it is too late for the starter to check his finger. This is called "beating the pistol," and many athletes who would scorn to steal goods or money apparently think that it is perfectly proper to attempt to steal distance from their competitors in this manner. A little reflection will serve to show that trying to "beat the pistol" is nothing less than rank dishonesty, and

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halfway down the stretch. schick of harvard defeating moulton of yale in the dual meet of 1902.

a man who wins a race by this means can have little upon which to congratulate himself.

A very common error in starting is to allow the body tcu assume an upright position too rapidly. The body should come up gradually, as shown in plates 3 and 4, and correct running position is usually reached by the time the run ner has taken about four strides. It is not wise to try and take too long a stride at first. The strides should lengthen

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Plate 7. a typical finish ; intercollegiate games of iqo:

with the speed, until when the period of top speed is reached the athlete will be in full stride.

The arms are of great service in sprinting, and the importance of this fact is generally underestimated. When the hands are lifted from the ground at the start the left arm is moved forward and the right back, as shown in plate No. 3, so that arms and legs are working together in unison immediately after leaving the mark. Many novices make the mistake of throwing both arms forward or back, thus

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preventing arms and legs from working together until after the runner has gone a considerable part of the distance. The arms are used in bent form and are moved almost straight forward and back and not across the bodv.

The advantage which may be gained from breathing properly is another point which is not generally appreciated. It is a good plan to practice inhaling a long breath when the command is given to "set" and to hold it for twenty-five yards or more, then to exhale and take in another breath at fifty or sixty yards and exhale and inhale again for the final spurt. The body is more buoyant when the lungs are filled with air than it is with the lungs empty. This breathing practice can be carried to such an extent that men can sprint seventy-five yards on one breath inhaled at the start and then exhale and inhale for the last twenty-five yards, and men have been known to run one hundred yards at top speed on the one inhalation taken at the start.

The athlete should try to run in as straight a line as possible, and after traveling from ten to fifteen yards the footmarks should be in a straight line to the finish.

The work which is necessary to develop a sprinter consists of much practice in starting, fast dashes of from twenty to thirty yards, speed work at from seventy-five to •one hundred and fifty yards, and jogging or springing up and down the track to develop springiness. The sprinter must be taught to get his feet off the ground quickly, and to run on the ball of his foot all the time with the toes pointed straight ahead and not turned out in the position humorously referred to by trainers as "ten minutes of two." The knees should be raised more than in distance running and the body should be bent slightly forward over the legs. Before trying any speed work, at the beginning of the day's exercise the sprinter should jog up and down until he is thoroughly warmed up, and should not sit still at any time during his practice. While waiting for his turn to start he should move up and down on his toes to keep the blood in circulation.

After starting from the pistol and finishing the required distance it is always important to slow up gradually and finish twenty-five or thirty yards beyond the finish line, for stopping suddenly is one of the w r orst things a sprinter can do.

If possible it is a good plan to do your work in company with another runner, taking a start if you are his inferior or giving him one if you excel him. The little spice of friendly competition is good for both, and very often a friendly critic can detect faults which the sprinter himself would never think of.

The sprinter's work should be varied. There must be days for practicing starting and running in good form, there must be days for "staying-up" work, and there must be days for regular speed trials. While one programme cannot be laid down which will cover the case of every sprinter, the following arrangement has proved a useful one for the average man after he has done some gymnasium w T ork and has done some preparatory work on the track for about two weeks. On Monday the sprinter takes six or eight fast twenty-five yards dashes with thirty yards extra to slow up in. A short rest is taken before each start, and in conclusion the sprinter runs a fast seventy-five yards at top speed. On Tuesday instead of starting he jogs up and down for a straightaway of about one hundred and fifty yards, taking easy, springy steps and allowing himself a short breathing space in the middle of the jog. After covering this distance several times he runs through the one hun-dred and fifty yards in the following manner: Getting away easily, he runs for about thirty yards with a gradual increase of speed, then gets in about ten fast strides, slows up, and

PRACTICAL TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETICS.

immediately repeats the process, finishing with an easy thirty yards. After a short rest he finishes the day's work by jogging an easy quarter mile, running as easily as possible and remembering to lean forward. Wednesday calls for the same work as on Monday, but the run at top speed is extended to one hundred and fifty yards. On Thursday the sprinter jogs the one hundred and fifty yards distance three times, and finishes by doing three hundred and fifty yards at a fair gait. On Friday he runs through a fast hundred yards, takes a rest, and then runs a fast two hundred and twenty trial. Saturday's work is the same as that of Monday, but the short dash is reduced to fifty yards.

It is wise to use corks in the hands. They are commonly called grips, and are made of cork with a rubber band running through them, which is passed over the back of the hand before going to the start. They are a great help when a man is finishing, and, in fact, all runners derive some benefit from using them, sprinters especially. The running shoes have six spikes, arranged three on each side of the sole, and are made without heels. They should fit closely. For indoor running seven spikes should be placed in the sole, three on each side and one spike just under the big toe as far forward as possible. This spike will hold when starting on a wooden floor. For outdoor work it is a good plan to have a pair of practice shoes made to stand the preliminary work, and a pair of light racing shoes, which should be used only in competitions.

As a rule, famous sprinters are gifted with a fair amount of speed before they ever learn to run, and it is due to this faculty, combined with the instructions they receive from a competent trainer, that they attain their great proficiency. Some years ago men were picked for certain distances and events, mostly by their appearance. For instance, a sprinter was a man of more than medium height with long legs, well-

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developed thighs, and medium calves. Nowadays two of the fastest sprinters in America are below five feet eight inches in height. In fact, one man is only five feet one inch, but has beaten ten seconds for one hundred yards on several occasions, and has run two hundred and twenty yards in twenty-one and three-fifths seconds. It does not follow that short men are not proper material for the sprinting events as much as the taller men. As a rule, the latter prevail. It is uncertain just when a man will be at his fastest, but as a rule the third or fourth season is the most opportune.

CHAPTER III. The Quarter- Mile Run

440 Yards, 47s., M. W. Long, October 4, 1900.

HIS race is one of the hardest at which the athlete has to compete, for it requires both speed and strength to become a good quarter-mile runner. Although the distance lies midway between the short dashes and the distance runs, it approaches the former much more nearly than the latter, and is practically a sprint all the way. Training for the quarter mile, while on the same plan as training for the shorter 3istances, calls for more u staying-up" work. The jogging distances must be lengthened and the speed work must be at longer distances than in training for the sprints, and must not be done at quite so fast a rate of speed. While the stride is the most important in the quarter mile, and consequently the point on which the athlete has to center the greater part of his attention, he must not neglect to do considerable practice work at starting, for up to the present time almost all quarter-mile racing is done on an oval track and the starting point is usually only a short distance from the first corner. The fastest man in a race, if he is a slow starter, may easily become "pocketed" in the confusion which results from a large field of runners turning the first corner together at high speed, so that it is impossible for him to make up the distance thus lost. It seems probable that in the future more atten-

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P^l

Photo by Pictorial .Vers Co. pi y,-, : Q

DAN J. KELLY, CHAMPION SPRINTER, TRAVELLING AT QUARTER-MILE SPEED.

tion will be paid to having the race run on long straightaways with one turn and to having the first part of the distance marked out with lanes as in the sprints. In any event, however, practice at starting is a good thing, for there is no opportunity to loaf in a quarter-mile race. The pace is fast at the start and keeps at pretty near top speed until within about fifty yards of the finish, where the runner has to exert every bit of muscular power and all the grit and determination which he possesses to bring him to the tape without faltering.

Photo by J. C. Hemmeni.

T. E. BURKE DEFEATING M. LONG IN THE QUARTER-MILE AT THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS OF 1897, IN 49 SECONDS.

To acquire the proper stride for running a quarter mile the knees should be well raised and the athlete should run on the ball of his foot with the toes pointed straight forward. The body should be bent slightly forward and the arms, as in sprinting, should be moved straight forward and back, and not across the body.

The work at the beginning of the track season after the athlete has done some preparatory work indoors, and is consequently in fair condition, should be of such an order as to

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t. f. keane's style at the quarter, showing excellent form for the shorter and more stockily built runner. mr. keaxe was amateur champion of america at the quarter-mile in 1894.

develop endurance. For the first week or two an easy half mile on Monday should be followed by a fair six hundred yards on Tuesday and two easy quarters with a rest between on Wednesday. On Thursday the athlete should run five hundred yards, the first two hundred and the last hundred at fair speed, and on Friday he should practice six or eight starts and finish with a good lively three hundred yards. On Saturday he should run a fairly fast quarter, getting away

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Photo by J. C. Hemment

E

Plate tt.

HOLLISTER OF HARVARD LEADING HIS FIELD IN THE HALF-MILE IN THE DUAL GAMES BETWEEN HARVARD AND YALE.

to a fast start, then settling down into a good fair gait, thinking especially of his stride and finishing the last fifty yards at top speed. As the season advances the work should be made a little harder. The speed work should be done at a little faster rate and the athlete should go through some good fast two twenty yard and three fifty yard dashes. Once in two weeks at least he should run a trial to see whether it is endurance or speed that he lacks most. As in sprinting, it is always a good plan to work with others, practicing starting and getting to the first turn at top speed as if in actual competition.

Quarter-milers as a rule are rather tall with long legs,

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for a short man is not capable of developing a stride long enough to cover the distance in fast time. A man who can run a good two twenty yards can almost always be developed into a quarter-miler and vice versa. Occasionally phenomenal quarter-mile runners are discovered who are gifted with exceptional ability and do not require a great deal of development. To the ordinary man, however, careful steady training is bound to be of service. A man mav train for three years and think that his improvement is painfully slow, and then all at once will begin to develop very fast, and in a short time be running at greater speed than he ever dreamed of.

CHAPTER IV. The Half-Mile Run

880 Yards, im. 52 4-5S., Emiiio Lunghi, Montreal, September 15, 1909.

&i f

;V fill \

ITH the change from the quarter to the half-mile run, speed becomes of much less importance and endurance becomes an absolute necessity. Of course a first-class half-miler, a man who can beat two minutes, must be possessed of a fair amount ot speed, but endurance must be cultivated at all hazards. Some cross-country running during the winter, combined with gymnasium work for the upper part of the body, is the best preparation for the running season.