Why? The Science of Athletics

CONSIDERATIONS IN RELATION TO COMPETITION I 35 in the vessels of the abdomen and chest and his limbs are cold ; but when he begins exercising his heart-rate rises, there is an increase of blood-pressure, and the blood is driven out into the extremities, with the result that there is both redistribution and more normal distribution of it. The coming of a runner's "second wind", Second Wind as it is popularly styled, was a mystery which baffled everyone for many a long year, but of late years many theories have been advanced to account for this phenomenon. Dr. Abrahams and his brother,- in their book Training for Athletes, suggest that the occurrence of second wind in an athlete is an indication that he is insufficiently trained. There is support for their theory in the circum– stance that no two men get their second wind in the same way or at the same time, nor even at the same time in the case of individuals. "Training", they point out, ~'leads to co-ordination between various parts of the body until the same exertion which was at first accompanied by considerable distress and exhaustion is performed with ease, an entire absence of suffering, and in less time." From that hypothesis it is fair to argue that if a man is sufficiently trained for his particular distance he should not need, and will in fact not get, a second wind, since the heart, lungs and muscles of the fully trained runner are subject to such nice co-oper_ation that any insidious adjustment taking place is bound to pass unnoticed. A. F. H. Newton, holder of the world's record from 29 miles 1408 yards in 3 hours, 8 minutes, 37 seconds as an amateur to 152 miles 540 yards in 24 hours as a professional, states in his delightful book Running (H. F. & G. Witherby, Ltd., London, 6/-) : "There is no 'second' or 'third' wind in the ordinary sense, the only wind that is available is ·the one you start off with and live with all the time ; in other words normal breathing relative to the amount ofenergy in use. "We might perhaps describe the symptoms in this