Show RAPID SPRINTING Malcolm W Ford Writes of Short Distance Running THE < IMPORTANCE OF THE START I Different Methods v Practiced by Various i Schools of Athletes The Positions of Lcs and Anns i Sprinting or short distanco running is probably prob-ably the first game tried by the average man who visits an athletic field to sec what he is good for The idea oC running fast attracts most men and as tho only wayto determine hon speedy ono may bo is to try and set it is quite natural that this game should be much more than usually popular Sprint races include in-clude distances from 300 to 440 yards The first distance is generally considered the limit although somo claim that a 440 yard run is a sprint quite as much as H 230 yard run is A distance which is a sprint for one man may not be so for another for tho term defines a distance where full l speed is sought for from tho beginning to tho end of a race As men vary distances in which full speed r dT 1 It Jl 1 i OiZt ij 11I1 I J f k r 7 i > Xx t 0 iL I Si E POSITION FOn SETTIKO From an instantaneous photograph can bo maintained there can be no specific distance mentioned as being l the limit of a sprint Tho largo majority consider the ex tromo point to be anywhere from 250 to 350 yards running distances of 400 yards andover and-over an athlete will hold himself in during the first part of the race and the longer the rare is the more importance this holding in gains In all races where full speed is maintained from start to finish one essential point is to be able to start and get into ones stride with as little loss of time as possible The shorter the race the more important this point is and many contests have been won by gaining gain-ing an advantage of two or three feet in the first five yards and holding without being able to increase tho advantage to tho cud An athleto winning race of that kind shows not that ho is more speedy than his opponent oppo-nent but that he is able to get into his stride sooner and thereby get going quicker When foot racing was young and tho different dif-ferent contests were not governed as well as they are now the habit of beating the pistol pis-tol used to base prevalent that an athlete iras considered quite a novice if he could not sfeal a yard or two on the pistol firer BeatIng Beat-Ing the pistol means that after a runner has been told to get ready he starts on his journey jour-ney before the pistol has been fired but after tho starter has begun to pull the trigger In this way an advantage unfair of course of B fifth to twofifths of a second can sometimes some-times bo gained over competitors who wait honestly for the signal It can readily be Imagined what a peculiar sight it was when four or fivo sprinters in a race anticipated the firing of a pistol and ran off Six or eight years ago such a scene at amateur sportswas quite common but now it would lx considered a curiosity so much has the management in this line improved during the last half dozen years Even now in 1 go calitieswhore athletics are not well established estab-lished beating the pistol in tho sprint races is practiced but the important games nearly always have a pistol firer of known ability who is paid for his services and as his reputation repu-tation depends upon his getting tho men off evenly in a race there is natural incentive on his par to do the work properly The method employed by several pistol firers of Imown reputation at the presen time to dispatch contestants in a sprint race ic after the clerk of the course has put them on their marks to tell them to set Most of them will then assume a position similar to that shown in tho illustration Position for Setting and they will wait there for some seconds or until the pistol firer is convinced con-vinced that all are steady when ho will pul l tho trigger The advantage of holding oneself s wIt in tho attitude shown by this illustration is that with the arms extended and tho position posi-tion which the feet are in one can get underway under-way very quickly It will r bo noticed that a one foot is nbou twenty inches back o f f the other Tho front Irong foot which in thi g s case is tho left one is 4 supposed to be on th e 3 Hue with tho too c f Zy cJ tho hind foot resting in a little hole dug i gn the track to get a push 4r J rr V fx = < OTHER MKTHODS OF BTABTIKO From instantaneous photograph from An athlete in this position when he hears the pistol brings his left arm back and Lis right anji forward until both are about parallel with tho body when tho motion ho brs made with Ms feet in tho meantime will necessitate his extending them again in about tho same positions only to bring them back In exactly the reverse position which is the commencement of the arm swing used by all sprinters There arc two ways of using the feet in this style of startingono is to step out with the back foot when the arms are drawn halfway half-way back and the other is to leave the back foot where it is and take a short stride with the front foot the arms in this case going through the very same motion as when theft the-ft ft t movement of the feet is made with the back one The length of stride when the back foot is used first would bring the first Step about three feet in front of the scratch Bark which is where the front foot is resting If the front foot is put forward first it will trikc tho ground anywhere from nine to fifteen fif-teen inches in front of tho scratch line and the movement is followed by a regular stride mnde by the back foot Tho two stvlcs san s-an be seen are quite different and each I method has many advocates Some claim that the short stride with tho 1 front foot when the legs are already some 1 distance apart makes them sag too low by I further spreading tho logs and that an athlete ath-lete cannot recover so well to take another 1 v tride simply on account of tho sagging when i tho body is not enough in motion to stand it Tho advocates of this style say that the posi Mon of U setting necessitates their bearing 1 J > early all the weight of tho body on to the 1 front leg and that a short stride of about afoot f a-foot with the front puts them better in motion mo-tion thanif they struck out directly with tho Wok foot which pecef > itptasbeforo QJ stride h n can DO taken with It tlio putting of a certain I j amount of weight on it so that it can be pushed from Nearly all tho weight being on 1 the front foot brings about a loss of time at J j I ter the pistol is fired in transferring some of it to tho back foot before tho latter can be I i used in shoving J I Another way of holding the arms when tho I back foot is used to spring from is shown in i the illustration Other Methods of Starting j The athlete in this picture has his left foot at tho scratch line as in the first illustration but his right arm is forward and his left arm is pointing back He will use no half swing with his arms but will when ho hears tho pistol step out with his back foot bring his right arm back and left arm forward all tho way and go on with his arm swing which is rendered possible by it being originally commenced com-menced in accord with fho stride of tho legs The style is not used very much although it has been proved by some sprinters to be good enough to he worthy of a trial After an athleto is at homo with a certain style of starting it would be rather foolish for him l to change his stylo unless he is convinced that some other method is better than the ono he uses If ho continually practices different Etyles confusion will show itself in the race and as so much depends upon tho start of a sprint raco an athlete should feel thoroughly at homo when on his mark and be able to move from it with a sensation that ho has been long accustomed to Another style of getting ready to start is i shown in tho illustration Other Methods of Starting by the athlete who has both hands and right foot at the scratch mark stooping down with his left knee just above tho j ground It was used successfully by C IL I Shcrrill the 100 yard champion of America of 1SS7 and intercollegiate champion 100 yard runner of 18SS and 1SSO In his later races ho has not used it but stands on tho mark as shown in tho illustration Position for Setting Tho stooping start is not popular popu-lar and Sherrill said ho adopted it to prevent falling over the mark which ho seemed unable un-able to avoid when ho used the regular position posi-tion i for totting Some sprinters have used the stooping start to good advantage but out thsi side of its making Sherrill hold his mark it siw was of r9 advantage to him in getting into his stride At the time ho used it he was running very fast and won his races although it was the niversal opinion that ho invariably lost a li ttlo distance at the start Tiio principle of this style starting is to riso quickly on the leg l placed at the scratch mark which in Sherrills case is the right one and step out with tbo other A little push can bo given with tho arms but it must necessarily bo very slight If the shoulders are stooped far enough to enable tho arms to be bent it brings tho athlete too close to tho ground Sherrill was taught this style of starting at Tale college but latterly he became reconciled recon-ciled to the ordinary style Jk t p 0 = = = THE FIRST STRIDE From an instantaneous photograph The illustration called Tho First Stride shows two athletes in a race just after tho pistol had been fired It rill be noticed that the one on the left hand side has brought his arms back and is giving the half swing as described before It was a handicap race and the one on the left side had one yard allowance al-lowance The runner on tho right is nearly at tho extreme point of the arm swing Both are on the left leg but the one to the right is further advanced into his stride for his right leg is being put forward and the angle of his body shows that when the stride is taken ho would be almost level with his opponent even though he started a yard back The position of the athlete on tho left side looks as though his legs had a tendency to straddle and there is not tho direct front motion which is noticeable with tho other To be able to start well in a sprint race requires re-quires a great amount of practice Tho best way for an athlete to learn it is to have someone some-one tell him to set and start him either wIth the word go or with a pistol just as though he were in a race His friend should hold him on his mark different periods of time and if any motion is made which resembles the ath letos premeditating the pistol he should bo held until quiet reigns again At the pistol he should run off using rather short strides until he gains somo momentum when his regular running stride can be used Anywhere Any-where from thirty to sixty yards is a good distance to run at each trial Half a dozen or even a dozen of these starts whenever lie practices will in time make him feel at home while standing on his mark and getting into his stride It makes no difference whether one is practicing prac-ticing for 100 or 300 yards the starts should always bo tried and running the full distance dis-tance occasionally should bo done according to the athletes feelings In practicing for 300 yards for instance if the athlete wished to test his finishing powers he should try a stiff 200 yards and only a moderately hon 300 yard run occasionally Practicing starts not only teaches the athlete ath-lete a quick way of getting into his running but the action of the running itself is developed devel-oped Not so much attention to the finish of the race concerning probable staying powers etc is necessary as might be supposed by a novice The finish of a race generally shows the strength of a mans staying powers and this is developed more by starting than by finishing finish-ing I TIi |