Athletics

WALKING. 81 arm is pushed forward, and partly straightened. This balances and carries forward the body, and the heel of the right foot gradually rises, so that only the toe remains on the ground as the left heel touches the track. This must always be the case. Should the rearmost foot leave the path before the foremost one touches it it is "lifting," and will be met with disqualification, as it transgresses the first principles of" toe-and-heel "walking.* The contact of the left heel with the path frees the right leg, which is swung round forward, asthe left foot flattens to the track, with the right arm, and as the left foot rises to the toe the right heel touches terra firma directly in front of the otherfoot; and so on. Arm-action shouldbe carefully cultivated. Properly used, the arms seem to act as levers to lift forward the body, besides assisting to balance it. The weight must be kept on the heels; therein liesthe chief secret ofwalking fairly. Let any one watch the uneducated (in a walking sense) novice. He starts upright, he soon gets bent forward by raising hishands too high, the head drops down, the back bends; all the weight goes on the toes. In response, the knees give way, and he creates amusementby his awkward attitudes, until his ambling gait attracts the judge's eye, when disqualification follows sharp and sure. It is absolutely impossible towalk fairly under suchconditions; whereas, if the directions given above arefollowed, the head heldback, the shoulders squared, the body kept upright, and the arms thrown straight out, there is no inclination to " break," as the weight is properly carried. In running, a man's, height is increased; he moves onward by a series of upward and * "Mixing" is distinct from "lifting." The former is a deliberate attempt to mix running with walking ;the latter may happen, without any intent to defraud,by a man simply over-walking himself or " getting forward," C.