Athletics (British Sports Library)

RELAY RACING 123 In the first place, the coach or team captain has got to consider ·carefully the order in which he is going to arrange for his team to run. The normal system is to keep the fastest man for the last relay, particularly if he be one of those big-hearted fellows who show to the best advantage when confronted with the hard task of overtaking a field that the preceding relays of his own team have let get out of hand. Sometimes, however, the best man should be kept for 'the third relay, in order that he may break up the opposition and send the last of his team mates on the final stage of the journey with a substantial lea~d. The second fastest man is almost invariably picked to run the first relay, on the theory that it is wise to set up a second relay lead if possible, so that the two middle runners may at least have a good chance of sending the last relay off on even terms with the opposition. From what has been said it will be seen that the runners in a relay team should be interchangeable, so that the coach or captain may readjust the order of running, even at the last moment, in accordance with his opinion of the opposition. At the beginning of training it is a good thing to lay down a hard-and-fast rule that every member of the team must acquire proficiency in receiving the baton in the right hand, shifting it to the left within the first 50 yards and passing it from