Athletics of To-Day 1929

104 Athletics of To-day in alternate fast and slow quarter miles ; Friday, rest ; Satur– day, race or time trial. In an earlier paragraph a schedule for two miles in ten minutes is given, because the pace the distance men must work for is the average speed of each mile in five minutes. This statement needs a little qualification, for a five minutes' mile average would not have been fast enough to win the A.A.A. four miles in any year since rgzo when . E. Blewitt returned zo mins. ro~ secs., and is too hot a pace for most men, although Nurmi averaged approximately 5 mins. rt secs. per mile when he made his world's ten miles record of so mins. rs secs. ince 1907 the A.A.A. ten miles has been won outside 54 mins. only once, on eight occasions 52 mins. has been beaten, and in rgr3 E. Glover returned sr mins. S6i secs. In preparing schedules for ten miles, runners should remember the following figures: An average of 440 yds. in I min. I8 secs. equals IO miles in 52 mins. o secs. , I , I9 , 52 , 40 , , I , 20 , 53 , 20 , , I , 2 I , 54 , 0 , An even pace should be sustained throughout; any im– provement in the time beyond the schedule will come through speeding up to pass opponents and in the finishing burst, which should be built up to cover 440 yard if pos ible. The walking exercise advocated should consist of brisk walks and not mere strolls. The four-miler should run at one-and-a– half to two-and-a-half miles in training with an occa ional spin over the full:course. The ten-miler should go for plenty of long, fast walks, take occasional runs of five miles and, but less frequently, six, seven and eight miles, with a full course trial now and then. In running the arms are carried with hands loosely closed and swinging naturally across the stomach, the arms swinging inwards and outwards as the opposite legs are raised or low red, as in os. r and 3, Plate rz. You can prove for yourself how much the action of the arms helps the stride. First let your arms hang down at the sides and take a step forward; then put your hands at the pit of the stomach and take another stride,