Show v ' G"E -- 'tis Vr £rr A : n U " - pSJack Howell track training "Traditional and By rules were tossed to the precedent winds 'recently and masculine supremacy received a serious setback when Ruth Myers of Haswell 12-year-- Colo invaded that once sc athletic event — the marathon race For not only did she enter one of the west's most gruelling and trying marathon races she stayed in it long after 30 of the 35 masculine entrants dropped out and won first money in the women's division The event was the Third Annual Arkansas Valley Marathon held at La Junta Colo he-mann- ish it was a surprise to Colorado when such a tiny girl won so big a race but even stranger was the way little Ruth Myers trained In winning this race the girl knew nothing about running form or track techAny professional track coach would nique d have said that she the proper training 20-mith to run of the course That is he would have said so before the race Almost as remarkable as the feat itself is the story of how this small girl and her sister became interested in longdistance running training themselves by chasing across the wild open coyotes and jack-rabbitheir home near town Haswell Colo prairie 156 population Three years ago when Ruth Myers was just a little tot in the fourth grade the teacher read aloud a story to Ruth and her classmates It was the most thrilling story ' the little girl had ever heard 12-year-- la-ke- one-four- le - 68-pou- nd 14-year-- ts X 'X IT was the tale of Pheidippi-de- s running 26 miles 385 yards to Athens to announce the victory of the Greek over the Persians in' the battle of Ruth Myers vho won a 2Qmile marathon race in the time of 3 hours and 47 minutes — which included Twelve-year-ol- d three Marathon the little girl Breathlessly listened to the stirring account of Pheidippides 3 That - - le if Y7 " (V : I r r r a i' 5 1 Gov £tf Johnson of Colorado starts the girls' marathon The art on points to Ruth her sister Helen is on the extreme right the left Helen stops during the race while At ' her father gives her a drink of milk ' r 1 v t c He stood on a low knoll pot a 1 j'A ? ' 4 4 1 stead of sticking to more childish games i is situated on the i high rolling prairie of eastern Colorado The is surrounding country open range infested with millions of jack-rabbi- ts and countless lean and speedy coyotes In their games of "marathon" the little girls then see wh? ou!d would flush a jack-rabb- it in sight the longest by running after keep him hira This was great fun and often took thera an alarming distance out on the prairie from 1 ' Racing ' jack-rabbi- ts developer of speed short The rabbit always got entirely out of 1 sight too soon s Then on? Saturday morning they saw a - U uiioiiiiniiiiiiiim ran directly toward the coy- ote He stood his ground for a moment then turned and ran but in no When he had covered a great hurry thousand yards or more he squatted down on his haunches and stared at the approaching children Perhaps he was Then puzzled again he may have sensed that it was only in play The girls came close Too dose he decided if they were just playing He swung around and loped another thou-an- d demanded -- - Up hill and down hill they ran h through and gramma never pausing for breath Finally the coyote wearied of such procedure Perhaps he was hungry Regardless of what his reason might have been he turned toward the rolling foothill in the west and began to run in earnest ""Oh thatVno fair" little Ruth cried' (Copyright 193' by Every Week Magazine)7 sage-brus- coyote on the high prairie north of Haskell Now children raised on the 6pen range know that a coyote won't come close enough to attack a person unless it is starving Even then it is likely to turn tail j This coyote surely wasn't starving-- ' He 'lctoksd loo smooth' arid 'sleek ' "We've been running playing marathon Ruth said "Do you mean to tell me you kids ran air " yards and squatted down againi ' V the way up here from home?" the father asked ' in amazement i Helen said' "we were chasing a big "Yes" coyote Myers looked at the speedometer It regis- tered 18 miles from Haswell Their father warned them against running across the open' country so fat from home and took them back in'the car For nearly two years the two sisters played at their game of coursing coyotes on foot Soon they were known as the two best cross-count- ry runners in the county Then in September of 1933 it was announced that girls would be permitted to parti- eipate in the second annual Arkansas Valley watcnin 5 was thrilling and a fine But the races were too - npHEY fA FTER school hours and on holidays Ruth inuiaiauion k'oj home' " " mained with the little girls Hasvellt their home town uV'tl' "jtJa " ''iiiiiiiiiii)iiiiioiiiiiiiii!ii!iiniiiii- - : f to let Helen then 1 3 enter But he was firm in refusing Ruth However she was permitted to "accompany her father in the family car following Helen over the long course Only four the 12 that started finished girls out of Helen was in at the finish but Marie- - Wey- bright of La Junta won the first prize of $50 V Shortly before the third annual Arkansas t Valley marathon on Sept 29 1934 everyin southeastern one Colorado was surprised to learn that the 1 Ruth had been en-tered in the race That is everyone was surprised but the people near Haswell They knew that she had often run 20 miles or more Five other 'girls from little southern Colorado towns entered the race with the Myers sisters They ranged inJage from 16 years to 22 years ' They were Georgia Miller May Chapman Elsie Button Marie Weybright who wfc&liml sun-bak- &TV7E can't chase him all day" Helen said VYV ft tort Not until then did the girls realize that they " had been runing for hours and were niles'from home There was nothing in sight but land " V and blue sky In the road they saw an automobile coming toward them Tt came from the ' directidtt of home and looked very familiar' In a few tab' mentst their father pulled up and looked at them ' with vast surprise' i t t "Where on earth have you' kiefs been?" he thou- sand feet away and stared curiously at the two girls "Let's race with him" little Ruth said He'll run too far" Helen replied "Then it'll be one of those mara- thons" -- i 64TT'S different than tunning for fun" he told them' A race' of that sort would injure your health" But they were insistent He finally agreed PS S i ' : r years Both girls thrilled at every word of the account of the Greek soldier's grilling race to Athens with the glad tidings They shuddered when their father came to'thepart where the runner delivered ' his message then dropped dead The book was returned to the teacher But L 1 r uic memory oii we arsi maratnon runner O marathon a 20-micourse from La Junta : ' to Las Animas Colo Immediately upon hearing that girls were to be allowed in the marathon the Myers sisters bean begging their father to let ' ' " them enter after- - noon when classes were dis- missed she 'approached the village school teacher "Please teacher she said ' "could I borrow that book to take home and have my father read that story to me? I want to hear it again" ' The teacher would not have been nearly so surprised had the request come from one of the boys! It teemed so unusual comingl from a chubby little girl whcv should have been more interested in dolls than in foot races But she gladly let v the child take the book home That night Ruth's father George Myers te3d the story to Ruth and her sister Helen who was then ' ' ' old £3 stops five-minu- te ed -- " 1933 woman's race and Nellie Taylor ' Gov Ed Johnson of Colorado fired list ' ' starting gum C nPHREE times in this long discouraging run the Myers girls stopped alongside their father's trailing car and sipped from a jar of milk and changed shoes They each consumed- one quart of milk during the run On her last "'stop - Ruth learned that three of the 'older' girl runners had dropped out of the race soon after 'they had covered the first 10 miles and that 30 of the meo runners had dropped out' That left only her i sister Nellie Taylor May Chapman and herself Fifteen miles from the start Ruth had gained lead over the nearest contestant her Three hours and 47 minutes after she had started on the marathon she came-ifirst across the tape in the main street of Las Animas Fifteen minutes of this time had beea used in the three stops Helen placed second a five-mi- le sister 20-mi- le 'iHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyfiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiioiiii ' |