Athletics and Football (extract)

CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNING 375 Next winter (1868) it was thought that, as a good many men who were fond of cross-country running had been got together by these steeplechases, there was no reason why they hould try whether paper-chasing proper would not succeed as well among men as among boys. The graphic description of the Barby Hill run by Mr. T. Hughes in 'Tom Brown's Schooldays' had long been before the eyes of paper-chasers, and as he had taken a kindly interest in our movement, and had come down and judged T.H.S. No. 2 for us, there was an additional reason why we should try ; though when the writer started the idea, he never thought that the new sport would spread as it has done (roughly speaking, there are now quite thirty clubs in London alone), nor that we should ever have among our members two old Rugbeians, who had both held the records over the Crick and the Barby Hill run, although, singularly enough, neither of them was able to make a record over either of our courses. Our first run took place on October q, 1868, from the King's Head, Roehampton, then, as it still is, our head- quarters, and the beau ideal in many respects of a paper-chaser's home, being a quaint old wooden-built inn, squatted behind a great wych elm, covered with creepers, and in the middle of real open country. \Ve had secured the written leave of Earl pencer, who then owned ·wimbledon Common, to run over it, and still claim to be· the only club who can drop paper over the heath, as having the right before there were su h things as conservators and their bye-laws, and all exi ting rights were saved by the Act. Among our fir t visitors \Vere two well-known Cambridge athletes- Kennedy, and the late J. G. Chambers. \Ve were not long before our succe s brought imitators, but they were not very successful at fir t, for the country they chose '"'·as not at all adapted for cross-country running, the Peckham A.A. C., which was the second club, not finding much open land round about Peckham Rye, and having chiefly to confine them- selves tO path-work. They have now, by circumstan es not