Athletic Training

THE HALF-MILE RUN 57 If the sort of training I have outlined here is followed for a period of four weeks the runner will be in condition for hard work. During the last half of his training his work should be much the same as I have outlined. He will now be in condition for an occasional trial over the full distance to see how fast he is moving. Ordinarily, I do not advise these trials more than once a week. If it is pos– sible to take the trial in an actual meet, so much the better, because it will give one the training he needs and racing experience that can be obtained in no other way. By compar– ing. the times of the various trials the runner will know whether or not he is getting enough work. If he feels the need of longer jogs he should not hesitate to take them. He needs strength to run this distance, and there are bound to be periods in his training when he can make greater progress by devoting more time to jogs of from three-quarters of a mile to a mile than by speed work. But, generally speaking, a good week's training will consist of two jogs at about four-fifths speed for 1,000 yards or three-quarters of a mile, with two fast 660-yard runs at the best speed on al-:-