ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2217, 1 August 1914, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

tBl "MsRCUBT."J CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP. Our harrier correspondent forwards ' the following account of last .Saturday's field day at Miramar, when the Wellington provincial cross-cmintry championship was won by F. J. Byrne, and the Whyte and Mackay Shiold by the Olympic-A team, with 18 points. Weather conditions -were decidedly unfavourable last Saturday. Eight teams weru nominated' for the event, representing the. following clubs:—Wellington (2 teams), Brooklyn(2), Central (1), Olympic (3). On the day of trial Cen T I' tral defaulted, being unable to find tlib necessary four representatives. There was some complaint from. competitors as regards the uncertainty of the course, ■ but no blame can be attached to the ifflcials who had this work in hand Tho trail was laid at the last possiblo, moment, but even then the high wind caused considerable diversion, while.the inclemency of the weather rendered it almost impossible • for the course stewards to be sent to the outlying points. Competitors were on their honour to cover the full distance, and if any irregularities did cccur, no great ' advantage accrued as at no stage of the race was the field separated) although weir strung out. With the Teams. To deal firstly-with the teams race— the win secured by Olympic was by no means an easy one, the successful combination only beating the Brooklyn team by one point. It was a good performance on both sides, and the writer venhires to opine that if these two teams were tried out over.a similar distance within a month there is every indication that Brooklyn could reverse the decision. Olympic's team comprised ' men well experienced in the art of team racing, besides having the moral advantage of knowing fnom the word "Go" that, bar accidents, the first place points were as near a practicalcertainty as human affairs can be.

The first four Olymbie men to finish were F. J. Byrne, F. Hodson, C. Murray, and I*. J. Burrell, whilo against this seasoned quartet Brooklyn had two new men in their A team —in fact, men who had never been seriously tried out in this class of racing—andS the fact that they ran and finished so well reflects credit upon themselves and their , club. The two runners in question were S. Hall and N. Cummings, who'finished fifth and seventh respectively. Brooklyn's first four men were: R, J. Ballan--tyne, S. Hall, 1 N. Cumminge, and G. Bristow. . * . On the day the- Wellington team was hopelessly beaten, the first two men to finish being Felix Eowberry_' and W. Donaldson, who filled ninth and eleventh places, W. Press and \V. Bennett being some distance back. It is rather too much to expect brilliant results from these two individuals, who have often been referred to as, veterans, and the fact that they are prepared to train for competition ..among much younger runners only goes to prove that they have the best interests or the sport at heart, and the highest praise is due to them as some recompense for their strenuous efforts. In their, oase. virtue is truly its own reward. Biunners cannot expect to remain always in' the front rank, arid of the present-day' frontrankers it is earnestly hoped that when .they, too, become classed as veterans thoy will endeavour to keep an active; interest in the.sport, as. to their oredit, do these two hardy old-timers. The individual Test; : ,, The/ individual championship' did not induce many entries, apart from those representing clubs in the teams event, but quite a stir :was., created by the nomination of C. C. Francis, late of Auckland, and at present a member of the Palmerston North Athletic; and Harrier Club.. Francis ran a remarkable race, and eventually finished third. As a. runner he caught the eye of the selector and others, 1 and present there is much speculation as to hisi ability of beating champion F. J. Byrne, provided both competitors were oil a strange course. A few notes will show ■Francis's disadvantages last Saturday. The face started, with a fair wind, and in a fairly narrow space, arid not knowing the course Francis took the rear of the pack in preference to the frorit j although the pack remained well bunfched for a hundred, yards or so, a turn in the course brought them, head on to a strong, biting southerly, mingled with sleet and rain. This caused the weaker runners to slow up, and consequently Francis also Blowed down, only to realise, after 6ome valuable time had been wasted, that the cracks were in a body well in front, pacing ont another, thus reducing the individual strain. Then he set off against the head wind to overhaul the leaders, which was . no light task, and must have been, a great strain, as he covered practically a mile and a half without pace before he got' in amongst them. His next trouble was (according to reliable report) want of information as regards the distance to be covered, and'in'this respect, also according to report, he did not receive entire satisfaction. Competitors certainly are not expected to spoil their ohances by directing others, but they should also 'realise what is only courtesy to'the stranger within -their gates, and they may be similarly placed themselves, when the correct information would prove a godsend. When' Francis ascertained] that he had a.mile and a quarter to go he was not holding what could be described as a goodvposition, and the competitor who supplied him with' the information states that in his ensuing spurt he literally left the field standing, and during his progress over the next 300 yards dispaced about six competitors. His finish is described as very and the judges state, that with a slightly ' longer distance to go he must, without doubt, have beaten .Ballantyne for second place. Francis has everything in his favour as regards phyeique. He is of the ■"rangy" stringy type, all wire and whipcord, and is strangely reminiscent of the present Australasian champion, "Jimmy Beatson. Although not as tall as the redoubtable Dunedinite, his general appearance arid his gait and action are practically identical, and there is every promise, too, that Beatson's class is not beyond his reach. Francis, in short, is a "comer," and a find 'of the first water> Byrne's Wlm "Darky! , Byrne- ran a splendid race (timo, 31rain. 36sec), and not untjl entering the last mile and a half did heleave his team to their own resources. The victory secured by the team was undoubtedly due to Byrne's generalship. Fergus Hodson ran a surprising race, finishing fourth (time, 32min. 14sec). He was not expected to boat 0. Murray, who finished sixth. (32min. : 18sec.) "Bob" Ballantyne finished 1 second (time, 31iniu. 69scc), being about 100 yards behind Byrne. Ballantyne broke from the field with Byrne in the'final scurry, and his achievement' on the day discredits reports about* his not being fit. Credit and praise aro due to S. Hall and N. Cummings, who are only experiencing their first season at cross-coun-try running. These two boys made very rapid progress early-in the season. Although Hall finished two positions better than Cumminge, there was. only nine seconds difference in their times, and there is small doubt that with careful handling they should develop, into ideal front-rankers, N. Cum. mines impresses one more than Hall, ns ho is much slimmer in build, and does not show the stuiie tendency to put (in weight us in theiatter case.