Track Athletics in Detail (extract)

4 TRACK ATHLETICS IN DETAIL No one ought to begin to train for any athletic event much under the age of sixteen. Until that time few boys are sufficiently developed physically to be able to stand the strain of regular athletic work. At that age and afterward, however, the muscles become firm, and are amenable to devel­ opment and capable of continuous carefulexercise. You will hear a great deal of talk about "wind" and "breathing" and "lungs," and kindred sub­ jects, when you first begin to train as a runner. Fay no attention to these "wind" advisers. Your wind and lungs will take care of themselves. In the first place, the lungs are not at all the organs that you want to think of in this connection; it is the heart. The heart is the organ that is affected by running. Run a hundred yards, and you will find your heart beating faster than when you started. The exertion of sending the blood more rapidly through the body is the cause of this. Therefore a sprinter should first feel confident that he has a strong heart; he may then set to work with no misgivings abouthis wind. It is not the lungs that are affected by cigarette smoking. It is the heart. Take any smoker, and you will find that his heart beats to a different measure from that of an abstainer. For this rea­ son sprinters should avoid tobacco. Another old- fashioned and exploded theory is that the athlete should run with his mouth shut. That is not necessary at all. In fact, sprinters are taught