Athletics

HURDLE RACING. 63 Numbers of races are thrown away by a man cleverly (?) easing on the flat, and being shot on the post by a man he had comfortably beaten. Therefore, as a parting injunction, always finish "all out," and do not relax your efforts until you are past the judges. Pull upa yard beyond rather than 071 the tape. As pointed out by Mr. Daft, who isabout the most proficient hurdle-jumper in the world, hurdling is the most difficult form of athleticism, calling forth an education of its own needing smartness ofthe legs, judgment of the head, and quickness of the eye more than any other sport. The great obstacle, ina double sense of the word, to be over­ come is"jumping" the hurdles. A novice generally treats the race as if it was a series of high jumps. This must be conquered atthe outset. Before attempting it on his own account, thenovice oughtto carefully watch experts atthe game, instead of trying to inventa wayof his own. There is twenty yards between jumping and striding, and every little bit of extra skillproduces a corresponding increase in the speed rate. It isfor this reason that such enormous starts are, and can be, given in Hurdling, acrack timber- topper havingoften to allow twentyyards to the limitman. This is often a more severe penalty than it looks, as some of the men receiving long starts are frequently as speedy sprinters on the flat as the scratch man, who has, there- fore, only 90 yards, i.e. the distanceover the hurdles, wherein to pick up the 20 yards he is givingin 140. This wehave already explained;as a man penalized 20 yards would have 35 yards to run on the flat before reaching the first hurdle. Therefore, werepeat, with all the emphasis that cold type can express— master the 11 one, two, three,and over" andyou will be well on the road to proficiency.