Track Athletics in Detail (extract)

L6 TRACK ATHLETICS IN DETAIL ble you to judge of pace so that you can tell very closely how you are travelling over the various portions of your distance. As has been said, the quarter as now run is a sprint from start to finish, and the best thing to do in competition is to jump into the lead at once andhead the field all the way, if you can. As in the 100 and 220, no heed should be given to the other competitors; and, above all things, never look back. There is little more to be said in the way of in­ struction for this event, for it is one that must be worked over according to the powers and capa­ bilities of each individual. The general training after the first four or five months is about the same as for the sprints.As for the start, it is optional with the individual wheth­ er he shall stand or crouch. Burke, the world's champion quarter-miler, who is represented in the series of illustrations on the opposite page, uses the standing start, but many others get off from the crouching position. The second picture of the series gives a good idea of the pace and the general position of the body, both of which are identical with sprinting form. The finish is somewhat different. There is always plenty of space ahead after a quarter-mile race (which, of course, has to be run on a curved track) for the runner to keep on going as long as he wishes to, and thus he can pass the tape at top speed and keep on as far as he likes. Many hundred-yard