AMATEUR ATHLETICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 114, 15 May 1936, Page 13

AMATEUR ATHLETICS.

CROSS-COUNTRY RACE. DOMINION TITLE COURSE. ELLERSLIE RACECOURSE POSSIBILITIES. A word of warning to young athletes at this stage of the harrier season may ! not go amiss. There are naturally a big number of mere youngsters just commencing their cross-country career. A good idea is to spend the first day merely "trotting," but keeping up the steady pace all the time. But most important of all is the training during the week. It is most difficult to tone the muscles up With a mere Saturday's run. Especially when the athlete has never actually been out before. Start the idea of turning out three nights a week. Two miles is plenty at a slow pace for each night during the first week. . Then increase it by half to threequarters of a mile each week to follow. For at least six weeks never go above three-quarter pace. After this it is a good plan to carry on at a good pace with the addition of a good 150 to 200 yds sprint at the finish. Once the muscles are "set" and the runner fit, five miles of a night twice a week is sufficient. An idea is to sprint only, say, once a fortnight. That is to run, say, half a mile and then sprint hard for about 75yds. Gradually "trail" the sprint off until you are almost walking, but never stop actually moving. Trot along slowly until the heart has regained a normal beat once again, and then repeat the jn-ocess several times. This tends to not only test a runner's fitness, but also will sharpen him up. This "sharpening" will help him when he is racing to speed or sprint quickly past an opponent without giving him the opportunity to "sit in behind."

There seems to be a little doubt in Wellington as to the suitability of the course in Auckland for the. New Zealand championships this winter. Almost ten years .ago, when the championships were held here, the venue was Alexandra Park. Although a most successful championship, at which incidentally Gordon Kells and Tom Wilson ran so well that they led the "local" team to victory, there was a great deal of dissension. This was because Otago and other athletes had been so used to hills and bog that a run around the park was immediately" classed by the Southerners as a mere "track race." Five years ago, when they were again held in Auckland, the course was around the Ellerslie racecourse, and then out over the St. John's lake area. This Was a really good course, and the Southerners were most satisfied. However, after the success of the course for the last provincial championships, wheh . the racecourse itself was used extensively, there will be need for a great deal of thought about the matter. With the increase in the public interest and the urgent need for the funds which only a "gate" can provide, it is evident that Ellerslie lias wonderful possibilities. Of course, this will mean that the runners will have to go past the stands at least twice before the finish, which will give the. public its money's worth. As the Southern people will be suspicious of a racecourse it will be necessary to fully explain and go into the question with the greatest of care.