Athletes in Action

THE QUARTER-:\IILE-SU:\E\1.\RY I"' the five figures given on the page opposite, G. l\1. Butler, world's record holder at 300 yds., shows that the quarter-miler's stride should be long and clastic, and that the arm- action is much the same as that employed by sprinters of the American type, except that the punch employed is not of quite such a pronounced order. The stride, however, must not be too long for the individual, and it may be remarked that but few runners have been seen \vho were big enough, or strong enough, to hold the raking stride displayed by Butler. The knee is \'rell thrown up in front, but, again, the action is not so pronounced as it would be in a sprint of 100 yds. The head and body are inclined well forward and there is absolutely direct forward traction observable. The body is being kept close to the ground and the arms are sv;inging easily and freely, despite the fact that they arc contributing considerably to the forward propulsion of the runner. One other point which is particularly worthy of notice, is that Butler's whole body appears to be a smooth-running machine, with arms and legs working freely on a perfectly relaxed body. There is no indication that he allo·ws his body to rise and fall as he runs ; indeed, the running height of the top of his head appears to be at the same level through- out the five pictures. The co-ordination of the arm- and leg-action upon opposite sides of the body is also well worthy of close and careful study. ~ -......J