Athletic Training

MIDDLE-DISTANCE RUNNING 49 corner, a consideration which is not to be overlooked. During the preliminary training for this event the runner should do considerable jog– ging at distances greater than a quarter-mile. Usually a jog of half a mile or 600 yards will be found sufficient, but if the runner also has the half-mile in mind he will find it best to jog along three-quarters of a mile or more. The object of this sort of training is merely to acquire the necessary sort of endurance, and the amount of jogging one should do will depend upon what he can do without the stiffening of the muscles. After getting the legs and wind in fairly good shape the runner should begin a little speed work, training with the sprinters pref– erably. This work should consist of practis– ing starts, taking a few short sprints, with a moderately fast run of 200 yards. As the athlete gets stronger he can increase the length of his sprints to 300 yards, which he should do without tiring. Assuming that his train– ing is to cover a period of from six to eight weeks he should be at this stage by half the time. For the remaining portion of his train-