lay out a straight track, just that length. In the country this is
easy, in the city more difficult, the public parks being the only
places where it is practicable. Having laid out the track, take a
friend to time you, and run the course regularly three or four times
a day, one or two trials each time, keeping a record of the average
for a week. Do this in your ordinary clothes and shoes. You will
probably find your first week's average about eleven seconds, if not
more.
During this first week there is no special diet to recommend, save to
eat as few vegetables, and as little sweet stuff as may be. If the
bowels become free, as they are apt to do under the running exercise,
no medicine need be taken, but if the system is much clogged, a
succession of three doses of epsom salts or citrate of magnesia,
taken every other morning, will remove waste matter and restore a
healthy tone.
The second week begin to run for time, and to improve the wind.
Increase the number of dashes to five or six a day, and run the
course at least twice each trial. You are pretty sure now to get your
record below ten seconds, if you throw off your upper clothes and
run in shirt and trowsers. During this week eat lean meat, mutton or
beef, with stale bread, and drink as little as possible. Remember
that to keep the bowels regular, there is nothing like regular
habits; and that the system should be cleared out twice a day.
On the third week try the track at top speed, once every hour, and
begin to practice in running costume. You will find that your record
has now come down below nine seconds. Your appetite will become
furious during this week, and you will find it hard to stick to your
temperate fare of bread and meat, but this is essential to success,
as a sprint runner can hardly be too thin and hard for his work. If
the aspirant be at all fat, he should run in heavy clothes to sweat
himself down, or else try a Turkish bath, which takes off the fat
quicker than anything else.
The fourth week should be that of the race, and the previous exercise
should be increased by running the track once every half hour in
the morning, and returning to the previous week's practice in the
afternoon.
If any young man out in the country will try this method of training
faithfully, beginning four weeks before the match comes off, he will
be able to beat all his untrained competitors by one and perhaps
two seconds; for sprint running depends on the capacity to take the
greatest possible number of steps inside of twenty seconds, and so
does not require the elaborate training necessary to accomplish more
exhausting feats.
Hundred-yard dashes require the same training as seventy-five-yard
spurts; and so do hundred-and-twenty-yard races. The longest sprint
race, and the most severe of all, is the furlong dash--two hundred
and twenty yards. This kind of racing is a tremendous strain on the
lungs and heart, as the same pace which carries the runner over the
hundred yard track has to be kept up and even increased. It requires
a broad deep chest in the runner, with little flesh, and that hard
and firm. To train for such a race requires at least a year's
practice, and amateurs would do well to leave it alone altogether.
TO TRAIN FOR MILE OR TWO-MILE WALKS.
Here the first requisite is a track for practice, and the directions
for sprinter's training will serve in all respects as to diet and
medicine. The period of training however needs to be longer, the mile
walker needing more time to perfect his style and speed. The margin
of difference between a green sprinter and a trained one is only a
few seconds, but the green walker has to overcome a difference of
several minutes before he can hope for success in a mile match. His
exercise has one great advantage about it, that it aids him to train
himself into first class condition. If he will study to acquire the
walk of the professional, described in previous chapters, he will be
able in six weeks to cut down his mile record from twelve minutes to
less than nine, and will have a fair chance in any amateur race. When
he can do a mile in eight minutes, he can enter with a fair degree
of confidence almost anywhere, and can travel round to country races
carrying all before him.
TRAINING FOR MILE RUNS.
Here the training should be long and severe, and no amateur can hope
to do very much in mile runs in the way of time. It is true that
there are some young men, calling themselves amateurs, that have made
fine records at mile runs, but they were in reality professionals;
that is, they made a business of running, even if they did not take
money prizes. Begin with sprint racing if you hope to become eminent
as a mile runner, and keep on extending the length of your trials
gradually. It takes a good year's hard work to make a respectable
mile-runner.
TRAINING FOR LONG RUNS.
Here it is difficult, if not impossible, to give any fixed rules
beyond those indicated at the earlier part of this chapter. The best
way is to get a good trainer, put yourself in his hands and follow
his instructions faithfully.
LAYING OUT A TRACK.
Nothing is so common a cause of spoiling a walking or running record
as "a short track." This is peculiarly the case in the country,
where pedestrian contests are apt to be conducted in a rough manner,
unaccompanied by the guards found to be essential in the first-class
matches held in large cities. Too much care cannot be exercised in
measuring a track; and it is always best to secure the services of
the official engineer of the county or town as a measurer to make
sure of the proper length. The reason for securing an engineer rather
than trusting to your own measurement is that engineers can always be
depended on to use _standard measures, made of metal, which do not
stretch_. Common measuring tapes, being made of woven materials or
leather, are liable to many errors from stretching or shrinking; and
though these may not amount to more than a few inches in a fifty-foot
tape, they make a serious hole in a record of five hundred miles.
Sometimes these mistakes will occur in the best regulated contests,
as became evident after the Astley belt match of 1879 in Gilmore's
Garden. There was a great deal of litigation and dispute between the
representatives of the Astley and O'Leary parties before this match
came off; and the O'Leary people, who took possession of the Garden
the week after the match, in their eagerness to find some fault with
their predecessors, had the track remeasured. The result showed that
the track used in the Astley belt match lacked several feet of being
a full furlong, and the difference spoiled all the records, taking
six or eight miles off Rowell's excellent performance.
The commonest cause of country records being bad is that country
pedestrians too frequently use horse-racing tracks, which are
measured in a peculiar manner. In a horse-race, especially in a
trotting contest with wheels, the mile or half-mile line runs in the
middle, or near the middle of the track, to equalize the chances of
horses starting abreast. The advantage of "hugging the pole"--keeping
to the inside of this line--on a circular or elliptic track, are
too obvious to be enlarged upon, but the ardor of the horses
seldom permits one to hold this advantage long, and the animals
are continually crossing the line of distance, thereby making a
serpentine course which equalizes the chances of all.
In pedestrian contests, on the other hand, each man hugs the rail
as close as he can, and therefore the track must always be measured
_close to the inside rail_.
In a hall or theater, where most walking tracks have been laid, the
length must be suited to the capacity of the building; but when an
open air track is available, there is no question as to the necessity
of making it some simple multiple of a mile. A quarter-mile open
air track would be the beau-ideal of a place for summer pedestrian
contests, but if a half-mile or mile track is to be used, where one
already exists for trotting contests, it will be necessary to lay
out a second railing at the proper distance from the horse-rail, to
enable the record to be made in the only way it can count.
Open air tracks, however, are not fit for six-day matches, on account
of the liability to rain, and dew, which would spoil the track for
walkers by making it muddy. Moreover, such tracks are seldom found
near enough to cities to admit of the crowds that are necessary to
make a foot-race pay. Horse racing is the pastime of rich people,
who can afford to enjoy their amusement without regard to cost;
but pedestrian matches are dependent on large crowds of spectators
who must be tempted to drop in at any and all times. Therefore it
is that pedestrian matches are almost always, and six-day contests
invariably, held in large buildings, under cover; and the average
length of track is either 110 or 220 yards, so as to make either
eight or sixteen "laps" to the mile. The word "lap" has now become
so familiar that few people reflect that it is merely the revival of
an obsolete word meaning "to turn," and that so many "laps" mean so
many "turns." If the building is large enough to hold an eight-lap
track, it is to be preferred; but failing that, one must be satisfied
with a ten, twelve, or sixteen lap track. For the convenience of our
readers, we furnish a table of lengths of tracks, making so many laps
to the mile:
A track 660 feet long gives 8 laps to the mile.
" " 586 2-3 " " " 9 " " "
" " 528 " " " 10 " " "
" " 480 " " " 11 " " "
" " 440 " " " 12 " " "
" " 406 2-13 " " " 13 " " "
" " 377 1-7 " " " 14 " " "
" " 352 " " " 15 " " "
" " 330 " " " 16 " " "
This table shows the kind of tracks to avoid as difficult to measure.
They are the thirteen and fourteen-lap tracks, which contain
fractions that involve a division of inches and are so far improper.
All the others are easily measured.
Next to the length comes the question of the best shape of track and
the size of the building which controls it. The greatest possible
length to be secured in any given building would obviously be in
a line which should run against the outer wall all round, leaving
the seats for the spectators in the center. This plan is open,
however, to two objections. First, the spectators could only see
the men when they were on their own side of the track; and, second,
the pedestrians would have to turn four sharp corners in every lap
round an ordinary building. These things must be avoided somehow.
The pedestrians must at all times be visible from every point of the
house and the corners of their track must be rounded for them to make
the going easy.
The next form of track which would suggest itself is a circular
one, in the middle of the building, but this has its own objection.
A circular track is sure to produce dizziness, especially if it be
a small one. The experience of the past few years has therefore
dictated the use of the largest buildings only, with tracks where
straight lines and curves are blended into a sort of ellipse; and
the proportion of each adopted in Agricultural Hall, London, and
Gilmore's Garden, New York, has proved itself capable of giving the
best results in time to the men and comfort to the spectators.
These now famous tracks have a center formed by a parallelogram,
with the upper and lower ends rounded into semi-circles. This center
is longer than it is broad, and leaves about two-thirds of the
track--the sides--in nearly straight lines, the circular parts at the
ends being each one one-sixth of the whole distance. If only two men
are competing, as in the O'Leary matches with Hughes and Campana, the
path is broad enough to lay out two tracks, on which the men can walk
without interfering with each other's movements. This is the fairest
plan; but if there are more than two competitors they use a single
eight-lap track, where the man who wishes to pass his opponent has to
do so on the outside, before he can take the rail in front of him.
The center around which the track runs is a good place for spectators
who wish to see the men closely; and is always occupied by a crowd of
people, moving from side to side, and cheering vehemently at the more
exciting portions of the race.
To reach this center visitors have to cross the track; but this,
though objectionable, has not yet been found to have any very bad
effects. All round the other side of the broad pathway are the rows
of benches and private boxes where are seated the great mass of the
spectators who do not care to stand. The only objection to Gilmore's,
now Madison Square Garden, as a place for pedestrian contests, is the
fact that the building is cheaply constructed, with a large number
of wooden pillars which interrupt the view of portions of the track;
but this defect is not serious in a race, where the point of view is
constantly shifting.
We give on the frontispiece a diagram of the general arrangement of a
building on the same principle as Madison Square Garden.
The model hall is of the largest size used, but gives a longer track.
The inside path, shortest of all, measures eight laps to the mile,
while a track laid out on the dotted line will give only seven laps
to the mile. This line is fifteen feet and a quarter of an inch
from the inner rail. The eight-lap track is five feet wide, to give
ample room for each competitor to pass the other on the outside if
he can. Each track has two straight stretches of 220 feet each, and
a semi-circular turn at each end. The diameter of the eight-lap
semi-circles is seventy feet three inches, and that of the seven-lap
tracks is one-hundred feet and half an inch. In each case the actual
measurement of the track will be a trifle over, rather than under the
calculated distance, which must be tested by the measuring tape when
the rail is set up. If it prove long, the rail is bent in, if short
pushed out, till the tape just fits.
Those who cannot secure an engineer or official surveyor to measure
their tracks are advised to use brass chains or steel tapes,
especially the last, which are very handy.
A hall of the size given will hold thirteen thousand spectators when
the whole of the ring is crowded with standers, as it was at the
close of every Astley Belt match in New York, while there are good
seats for seven thousand people outside the track, in a building 400
by 200 feet. The main path on which the different lap tracks are
constructed, is twenty-five feet wide, to accommodate races where
the starters are numerous, such as sprints of seventy-five yards or
upward.
This size of building and track will be found the best for large
cities, on account of the advantages it gives for the meetings of
athletic clubs, who always have two or more sprint races and handicap
mile or two-mile walks. Hundred-yard dashes on such a track are
made down one side, with the least possible turn; and by laying the
finishing line on a slant across the curve at the end, the outside
men can be favored enough to make all run just the same distance.
There is no trouble about starting five or six men at a time on such
a track.
The following estimates will show how, by following the same general
outline and proportions, smaller buildings can accommodate the
greatest number of spectators and the greatest length of track.
A building 100 feet by 50 will hold a railed inclosure 72 feet 6
inches long by 17 feet 6 inches across, giving a track 155 feet 3
inches long, 34 laps to the mile, and 8 feet wide, with accommodation
for 800 spectators inside and outside the ring, 400 having seats.
A building 200 by 100 feet will hold a 16-lap track and nearly 3500
people, seating 1600.
A building 150 by 75 feet will hold a 24-lap track, and 2000
spectators, 1000 on seats.
With these general data and the diagram, a calculation of the
capacity of any given building is easy. The main point is to have as
long a track as can be squeezed in, consistently with securing a good
view for the largest number of spectators.
Having treated of the best shape for a pedestrian track, the next
question comes as to the materials of which it should be made.
Bearing in mind that the broad twenty-five foot track is to be a
permanency for the use of athletic clubs and sprint races, it will
have to undergo a great deal of wear and tear, and requires a firm
smooth surface. Simple dirt will get trodden into ridges or become
loose and heavy, while a stone pavement is too hard. An asphalt
pavement, laid on the bare earth, gives a mixture of elasticity and
firmness that suits sprint races very well, and has the further
advantage of being easily repaired. For the main track, a thick
covering of asphalt can hardly be bettered.
For six-day walks, however, the main track is altogether too hard.
The long continuance of such walks makes the feet of the pedestrians
very tender, and they require something softer.
Tanbark and sawdust are the agents used to build a special walking
track, and the latter is far the most common. The best kind of track
that has been laid in the United States, and one that has served
as a model for all others since, was that used in the Astley Belt
match, won by Rowell in 1879 from O'Leary, Harriman and Ennis. This
track was bordered on both sides with planks, and filled with some
three inches of dry sawdust, smoothed with rollers. After O'Leary's
retirement, the track was sprinkled with water and rolled all the
time, the roller having to keep out of the way of the pedestrians.
This path, thus rolled and wetted into firmness, was the perfection
of a walking track. The dry sawdust was too soft and slippery, but
the wet rolled path was perfection. It made no dust, was always
springy and elastic, soft and cool to the foot, and conducive to good
time. Such a path can hardly be bettered by any means with which the
sporting world is now acquainted, and it is so easily made anywhere
that we can heartily recommend it. Open air tracks for summer
sprint-racing can hardly follow a better model than a common trotting
track, but if a turf surface, level and free from stones, holes or
roots, can be secured, it is still better except in a long drought,
when the turf becomes very slippery.
CONDUCTING A MATCH.
The management of a pedestrian match of whatever kind is by no
means an easy matter, and one that increases in difficulty with the
magnitude of the prizes involved. Large prizes are sure to attract
numerous competitors, and large crowds of spectators generally follow
the athletes. Every year sees a number of athletic games held in
our large cities, such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia,
Cincinnati or St. Louis, but it is safe to say that not ten per cent.
of these are even fairly carried out, while most are sad scenes of
confusion. In New York city the only club that gives thoroughly
satisfactory exhibitions is the New York Athletic, and the only
well-conducted six-day matches involving more than two competitors
have been the Astley and O'Leary Belt matches.
This statement involves a short account of the difficulties incident
to a large pedestrian match or athletic meeting.
The troubles arise from two causes, numerous competitors and numerous
spectators. These require a numerous staff to attend to their wants
and prevent disorder and waste of money.
Let us first take the spectators. To bring them in is the ambition
of every man or club that gives a match. To do so requires that
the entertainment shall be well and plainly advertised; and it is
not every one who can draw up an advertisement properly. The daily
papers must be visited by the managers to secure notices in the
news columns; and the walls of conspicuous buildings must be lined
with show-bills, setting forth the _place_ and _date_ of the show,
with the _price of admission_. Every bill _should_ contain this
information, but a great many amateur club bills do not contain it.
Having attracted the people, the next thing is to admit them
in such a way that no one shall get in without paying or on a
complimentary ticket, and that the tickets shall act as a check on
the money-takers' accounts. We have seen amateur shows where the
man at the door took money and tickets indifferently, so that the
managers were entirely at the mercy of his honesty. It is therefore
absolutely necessary that two persons should be at the door, one to
take the tickets, the other to sell them, and no person should be
admitted except by a ticket of some sort. The tickets should, as fast
as received, be dropped into a box with a slit at the top, the box
to be locked and the manager to have the key. The tickets sold at
the office should be of different color from the complimentaries, of
which the manager should be sole custodian.
At the "counting of the house" the ticket-box is unlocked, the
tickets carefully counted, and the result shows how much money ought
to be in the box-office. In a six-day match, where the receipts are
very large and constantly accumulating, it is usual to have two sets
of ticket-takers and box-office men, and to count the house morning
and evening.
In large matches, too, the managers are sometimes obliged to change
the shape, color and appearance of their tickets from day to day, to
avoid the introduction of forgeries, while detectives are necessary
to watch the ticket-takers for fear they may be in collusion with the
box-office man.
Within the house, if there are any reserved seats, it is necessary to
have ushers to direct the holders of coupons to their proper places,
but reserved seats are not much in favor at walking matches.
In large matches where there is a great mixed crowd, the attendance
of the police is frequently advisable to prevent attacks on
competitors by the backers of men opposed to them. Had it not been
for the police, Rowell and Hazael would have both probably been
severely hurt, if not disabled for life at the last Astley Belt match.
With regard to the competitors, the duty of the management is
confined to giving them a good track, air as pure as possible, with
responsible scorers and timers. Their quarters and diet are matters
for their own attention, and depend on the finances of each. It has
become customary to set up tents for all competitors in a six-day
match round the inside rail and opening on the track. These tents
are in fact preferable to huts of board, unless the weather is very
cold indeed, but they should be provided with camp stoves in case it
becomes necessary to give the competitor a warm bath, as frequently
happens.
The duties of the management as regards a good track for a six-day
match have already been explained. It is also their duty to see
that a sufficient force of scorers and timers is on hand. Where the
competitors are few this is not difficult, but where there are fifty
or more it demands great care to prevent confusion. In a six-day
match it is usual to have twelve relays of scorers, volunteers from
the various athletic clubs who take every alternate twelve hours from
Monday to Saturday inclusive.
The system of scoring adopted and used at the late great walk in
Madison Square Garden was a great advance on all previous efforts
and could hardly be excelled for simplicity and accuracy. There were
sixty competitors, and each had to be recognized and scored eight
times for every mile, or four thousand times in five hundred miles,
in such a manner that there could be no mistake as to his identity.
To effect this result the following were the arrangements:
Each competitor carried the number of his entry in figures a foot
long on his left breast, and they were started in sets of four or
six, to each of which was given a special timer and scorer. It was
the timer's business to watch for his numbers and no one else's, and
to call them out every time they came by the stand. Behind him sat
the scorer with his book, and it was his business to make a mark
against each number as called by the timer, columns being ruled for
that purpose in the book. Thus each man attended to his business,
without any temptation to increase or diminish his scores.