Athletic Training

26 ATHLETIC TRAINING are properly made and firm. To be sure of this, they should try them two or three times before the race actually starts. It is seldom that the starters in a longer race use the crouch. In the shorter distances great care should be taken to get a good start.. The athlete should be sure that he is well– balanced on his· hands· and feet. The usual form of starting a race is for the starter to give three signals. First, "On your mark." Then· the athlete gets quickly into position with the feet in the proper starting-holes, at the same time resting the weight of the body on the knee of the rear leg. Next, the starter will say, "Get set." Then the athlete steadies himself for the crouching start explained in the chapter on Sprinting. When it appears to the starter that all the runners are properly poised and ready, he fires the pistol. With the report of the pistol the race is on. Most sprint races are run in lanes, but the athlete should remember that a straight line is the shortest distance between two given points, and that the quickest way to reach the tape is to run straight. Other things being equal, the man who wabbles is sure to be beaten.