Track Athletics in Detail (extract)

T H E S P R I N T S O F all track-athletic events the sprints are the hardest to train for, yet the easiest to perform. Being the easiest, there are consequently many more athletes running the 100 and the 220 than there are competing in any other single events; but among all these competitors there are com­ paratively few really first-class men. To become such requires long and patient and careful train­ ing, and a greater mastery of form than in almost anything else. It is a difficult task to tell on paper just what a man should do who wishes to make a specialty of sprinting. There are so many small points of im­ portance that vary with individuals, that only a general description and a few broad suggestions can be given here. At the same time, whoever accepts these suggestions and heeds them may feel confident that he is working along the ri^ht lines, and that if he will follow the advice here set down he will put'himself into condition to make rapid strides of progress as soon ashe comes under the management of a trainer.