Athletics and Football (extract)

58 ATHLETICS ' standard medal.' Last, but not least, are the two' clerksof the course,' whose business it is to call out the names of the runners in the dressing-rooms, and see that they come out upon the course up to time. In a club meeting, where there are many handicaps with large entries, the ' clerks of the course' have the hardest, as well as the most responsible, part of the day's work,as if they fail, or get behindhand, the whole meetingbecomes demoralised. Here, there, everywhere,now on the track, now in the dressing-room, nowsoothing the feelings of this or that grumbler (for at an athletic meeting there is seldom some competitor or spectator without an imaginary grievance), is Mr. Herbert, the energetic and courteous secre­ tary of the A.A.A., who has had all the burden of preparing for the meeting upon his shoulders. The first race upon the programme is the half-mile, for which there were ten entries ; but five of these fail to turn up at the post, Bryden and Nalder keeping themselvesfor the mile and the others making no appearance at the meeting. And here let us say that the championship meeting has since 1880 been absolutely open to any competitor of any station in life providedhe has not run for moneyor run against a professional in public ; so that the old 1 gentleman-amateur' who enters for a championship knows that he may have to run a mile against a postman or put the weight against a blacksmith. The five starters for the half-mile are Haines, a countryman from Faringdon, in Berkshire,who runs gamely, but with a stiff, awk­ wardaction at the hips, which must wastehis strength. Then there are the two crack Londoners, both members of the South London Harriers' Club, E. D. Robinson and Stuart Howard, of whom the latter was for some time thought the coming champion until he was beaten by Robinson in a level half-mile at the Croydon sports. Robinson is a tall bony-lookingathlete, witha tremendous and rather slouchingstride, whichalways in­ duces the spectator to think that he is goingmore slowlythan is actually the case. Stuart Howard has decidedly a more taking style than his club-mate, as he runs with his chest thrown back