Success in Athletics and how to obtain it

WALKING 57 quickly see how important it is for him to be able to get well up on the toes; therefore he is once more recommended to the series of exercises which appear in the Appendix at the end of this volume. When the track work itself is begun, the training will, of course, be very materially governed by the distance of the race it is proposed to take part in. The athlete must train himself to acquire staying– power, but this he can do by means of pleasant country walks at a really lh:ely pace, provided he observes the ordinary procedure of bathing, changing, and rubbing after the exercise. The track work, therefore, may to a certain extent be confined to the attainment of speed combined with style. The training should not be at the full racing distance, but rather at half to two-thirds of the actual distance. At first the walks should only be at half to three-quarters speed, and for the first week or so a sweater should be worn; this will induce a perspiration, which accustoms the skin to healthy activity. After the first month or six weeks' training the walker may occasionally do a full-distance time-trial. From the very first the novice must practise to attain good style, and for this purpose he should watch a good man at work, and if possible walk with him. _In practice it is important that the walker should train with a better man than himself, or give an inferior walker a start. In this way he will learn to increase his pace in keeping up with or overtaking a rival, without losing his form and spoiling the fair nature of his " heel-and-toe " action. In walking on the cinder-path or roads in compe– tition, the rotary movement of the lower girdle of the . trunk is very necessary, so as to obtain an added length