Success in Athletics and how to obtain it

HURDLING 123 starting practice and rapid bursts of about twenty-five yards, in order to give the athlete pace up to his first hurdle. The starting practice also serves another useful purpose in building up the muscles employed in raising the body over the hurdle. In the longer races over low hurdles the strategy of the runner enters somewhat into the case ; it is, of course, as well to travel "all out" for the whole distance-if you are able to do it-and in any case the "run up" to the first flight must be at full speed, for if the runner lets his " field " get away from him at the first obstacle, he will find it exceedingly hard to pick them up again and yet retain his form. It should, however, be remembered that the sprint home has to be accomplished At ~he end of the 220 yards race the distance from the last hurdle to the tape is twenty yards ; in the 300 yards and 440 yards the distance is thirty yards ; in the latter race the last seventy-five yards is usually straight, so that if the hurdler be speedy, but is not blessed with great staying powers, he must husband his efforts in the middle of the race without letting his" field" get away from him ; he can then go " all out " from the second or third hurdle from the end to the winning-post. The question of diet for the longer distance hurdler in training must be most carefully attended to ; he must only eat such things as will give him powers of endurance and increase his nerve forces without adding to his weight. Special advice on this subject will be found elsewhere. Proceeding to the shorter race over high hurdles, I 20 yards is the standard distance and 3 ft. 6 in. the standard height -of the hurdle. There are ten flights