Athletic Training

SPRINTING 33 stand how to start, held up the race to give him instructions. Finally, he was made to understand that Sherrill was using a new start. Sherrill immediately demonstrated how superior it was to the old standing start, which it displaced, and now the crouching start is used the world over for sprinters, hurdlers, and even quarter and half milers. The importance of a good start cannot be overestimated, for a poor or slow start always means defeat if the runners are otherwise evenly matched. The athlete who has mas– tered the start can usually gain from a yard to two yards at the very beginning of the race on the man who has not yet mastered it. The object of a good start is to get off the mark and into the natural stride without the waste of strength or time. The first thing the runner should do is to dig the holes for starting. As no portion of the body can touch the ground in front of the starting-line, the holes should be dug so that the runner can get as close to the starting-line as possi– ble and yet be in a position to get away nat– urally and quickly. To determine where to dig the holes, the