Running Recollections and How to Train

CHAPTER XXII. CHARLES HARPER VANQUISHED. SHORTLY after the Newcastle Sweepof 1899, my backertold me that Ihad better geta match on with Bredin at 470. This wasmanaged with little difficulty, as Bredin, afterour last tussleat Barrow,had suggested a match at this distance. I don't much fancy running races over 300 yards. In fact, once when I was matched to run Bredin500 yards, a friend remarked facetiously," Why,the little beggar will never do it; he generally takes a cab when he goes that distance." Bredin and I decided to run our 470 yards match at Rochdale (poor old Rochdale) on May 6th, and the stake- money wasto be £50 a side. This odd distance, it will be noted, exactly splits thedifference between 440 and 500. As we signed ai'ticles atthe beginning of March, we had plenty of time in which to get fit,and I did not' bother for a week or two about going into training. However, a challenge fromHarper inthe Sporting Chronicle, in which he offered to take two yards in130, for £50 a side, and run in six weeks, brought me back into thepaths of—well, into training quicker than I intended. I fixed up a match eventually with the Bullwell ped., as the sporting press terms my lengthy opponent,he agreeing to take one-and- a-half yards in130. We eventually decided to run at Higginshaw on April 22nd. Bill Bottomley was again engaged to train me, and we finally decided to train from the AlbionHotel, Rochdale. My work for this, the most important sprint match I had