Athletic Training

SPRINTING 89 The sprinter should take particular care never to let the hand drag behind the hip. Every movement should be forward. (3) THE FINAL BURST The candidate is now ready for some real speed work, which brings me to the third por– tion of the training. First of all, I would cau– tion young sprinters not to overstride, even after having gotten well into their running. To do so will certainly cause the body to be overbalanced at a sacrifice of speed. After the sprinter has learned the art of being nat– ural in his stride its length will adjust itself. His aim should be to run naturally and to use every ounce of his strength. Above all, he should keep his mind strictly on his own work and not allow himself to be pulled out of his stride by an opponent. It is assumed that by this time the sprinter has been training for at least three weeks and is now ready for some speed work. During the third week the sprinter, who is training for the 100-yard dash, should try himself out with a trial of 100 yards against the watch. This will give him an idea of what he is doing