Bredin on Running & Training

RUNNING AND TRAINING. being at all times too far for me. There was a gale of wind blowing, and I noticed that it was dead against the runners in the home straight, so that before round– ing the last bend I took the lead, and running my fastest, endeavoured to get far enough away from the other competitors to enable me to last home, but these tactics were of little avail, E. J. Wilkins passing me some fifty yards from the worsted, and winning by about two yards in 3 mins. 17-! sees. The gentleman most pleased at the somewhat unexpected termination of this race was probably a spectator who posed as a bookmaker, and preferred to do a bit of running on his own account, rather than make any disbursements; for the moment I led into the final straight he slipped off at his best pace, to be immediately caught by an athletic and indignant punter, who had invested an even sovereign on my chances, and who first knocked him down and then sat upon him until the numbers appeared in view on the board in the centre of the ground, when the bookie was allowed to depart in peace, discerning at least some truth in the old saying that "it is better to be born lucky than rich." The secretary of the West of Scotland Harriers, at whose sports I had competed during the previous year, lowering two Scotch records, wrote saying there was a young Scotch runner of whom great things were expected, and asked me whether I would run the latter a match at 200 yards. I replied that 300 yards would suit me better, but it was finally agreed upon that we should compete over the intermediate distance of 250 yards. On June 1 Ith, therefore, I turned out