A System of Physical Education, Theoretical and Practical (extract)

SECT. II.] RUNNING. 173 course can be covered within the time de ired. If it be wi,hed still to lessen the time, the whole attention should be given to the quickening of the step-it being assumed that the full length of stride has been already acquired. Indeed neither rapidity nor duration should be seriously attempted until this quality has been culti- vated and its extent determined. If the speed be satis- factory but not the distance, I consider it the better method first to note the distance that can be done at the pace desired, and then daily, if only stride by stride, extend it, rather than to cover a greater distance with a general reduction of speed; inasmuch as I consider it to he less difficult to extend a course at a pace already acquired than to increase the speed over a longer cour e, \vhich can only now be covered at a slower pace. But regulations of this kind must give way when they clash with preconceived impressions or opinions, for in all such matters there is an individual suitableness to be consulted, and strong fancies and prejudices have much readiness to establish themselves as facts. To run a short distance, such as a hundred yard race, rapidity of step is probably the fir.,t quality; as the di tance increa es, as in the quarter or half-mile race, length of stride is probably of the greatest import- ance, or at least of equal importance with rapidity; and when the race is what is distinctly recognized as a long course, such as the mile or more, or combining distance with obstacles, such as the steeple-cha e, then