Athletics of To-Day 1929

Classical Distances 81 ((Ah did not try t'spike thee, lad," he replied. ((What Ah did do was to try and frighten thee by just tappin' tha heels wi' ma finger tips as tha brought foot oop behind. Ah think Ah did scare thee, but not enough to beat thee. More's t' pity ! " On August 23rd, I886, this great pair of runners met again at a mile, and again George won, and this time he set up the still unbroken world's professional record of 4 mins. I2! secs., the lap times for which are given in the schedule of the world's greatest miles, on page 82. Another epic race was run in I902, when ]. Binks, Unity A.C., won the English A.A.A. Championship from a field of seven starters, any one of whom was expected to win and beat record. S. Barker cut out a tremendous pace for the first quarter mile, which was covered in 6o secs. Then A. Shrubb took a turn, and the half mile was completed in 2 mins. 6 secs. H. C. Hawtrey led next, and three-quarters of a mile was run in 3 mins. I4 secs. When the bell was rung for the last lap Binks was lying second and Barker third, all three well ahead of the rest of the field. Binks was at Hawtrey's shoulder entering the home straight and came past him to win by two yards in the ~ew British record time of 4 mins. I6 secs. His portrait is Inset in Plate I I. In those days milers were beginning to make material reductions in th time in which the distanc could be run, and in Igrr, ]. P. Jones, U.S.A., brought the world's amateur record down to 4 mins. rsf secs., a figure which he lowered by a full second in I9I3. This gradual reduction in time was due to keen competition, more scientific study of the event, and a better und rstanding of how to run the succ ssive quarters, so that the whole race might be finished in faster time. The principle of adhering to an even time quarter mile schedule throughout the whole mile was b ginning to be dimly under– stood, and one is tempted to wonder what time would have been returned by Jones if he had run to such a schedule in I9I3. He covered his first quarter in 6r secs., half a mile in 2 mins. 9i secs., three-quarter mile in 3 mins. I6 secs., and one mile in 4 mins. I4f s cs. His last quarter was run in 58} secs. If he G