UNKNOWN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 26 August 1908, Page 64

UNKNOWN.

' t The sub-committee who had the arrangements for the (oross-country championship in hand la6t Saturday desire to thank mem- '- bers.o'f clubs who kindly assisted in laying the . trail. These were Messrs Melville, ~ Soofield, Condon, JDawson, Sanderson, Henderson, and A. Smith. They^also especially thank those settlers whose property was -- passed through during the race. The com- - mittee is also desirous of thanking those members who looked after the Timaru team, and -jwould like to especially mention the Itin^ness of Mr J. E. Green, who spared fa trouble in making the visit enjoyable. J4r Sanderson, vice-president. of the local - centre, in presenting the banner, complimented the Dunedin Harriers on their vie- . -iory," and stated that the consistency of the , team was a lesson to. other teams. Mr Mace, captain of the D.H., in accepting the banner,, thanked those present for their Jrin£ reception and foi the compliments . pftidT his team. On the call of Captain Morrison, of the D.H. Club, three cheers were jyiveD for M'Knight; first man home 5n the race; cheers were also, given. for *be c visiting teams^Tokomairiro Harriers •iwJ^South Canterbury Harriers. On ' Saturday evening some 35 members or • |"he 'D.H. assembled and spent asocial even - - ing? for a. couple of hours. The members 'of the Timaru team were present as gueste. Mr 3. E. Green and Mr J. R, Wilson were also" present. During, the interval Mr J. - <S3. Green proposed the toast of "The Winning Team," and expressed his pleasure and surprise at the fine muster of youmr " meu in the race that day, which proved - that" harrierism in Dunedin was very muon alive. Mr Green referred in terms ot praise to the performance of M'Kmght, and " also of the large number of competitors who finished in the race. He complimented the team on -their fine performance, and, Wished them every success. Mr Mace on behalf of the team, and referred' to the good feeling existing amongst " the hairier clubs, and expressed their appreciation of the excellent trail laid that *The toast of "The South Canterbury Barriers" was proposed by Mr J. R_. Wil«on and responded to by Captain Malthus an* neat speech, thanking the Dunedin clubs for their kindness. During the evenintCt- several member* of the Vincent footr feau team come into the room, ano the toast of "The Vincent Footballers' "was heifctilr given, and responded to by Messrs . • Jolly and -Davidson. - The-Bunadiii Harriers will send th* .following team to compete in the Interclub Teams -Race at Timaru :— F. Mace, L. West, D. -Thomson, A- Turnbull. N. Anderson, J. Crawford-, D. Hodgson; J. Templeton.Captain Malfchus, of the South Canterbury Harriers/ informed me thaf in regard to tho interclub Teams Race, to 4>e held at Timaru on Thursday; September 10, for the JBI0 1 ' lOsT-challenge shield, the conditions oro- eight men a-sid«, six to count ; entry Is per man; a gold badge valued at £l'ls for -first men home. The Timaru Harrters are' quite prepared to run the race to suat Ihtpedin competitors, so that in the event. ~ of. any runners wishing to return to' Dunedin on the Thursday evening they can catoh the second express ; in fact, if necessary, they could ieave Dunedin by firs^ exprees, reach Timeru at 1.30 p.m., compete, ami catch" the second express back at 3.39 p.m., reaching home at 9.15 p.m. 9She Oaversham Harriers intend sending . a team to compete at Timaru. As long-distance running is very much in •vogue amongst haTriers in Dunedin at pre S«nt, a few words of advice from Fred K. Saoon, the finest long-distance, runner of laiß time, should be of interest to barriers at this end. Cominß from a man of Bacon's calibre, the hinte are doubly valuable; they are based on experience. Bacon is the ■runner who first smashed the one-hour Deerfoot record-^a record which stood for many" years against all comers. Bacons inoet remarkable characteristic was his ■whirlwind finish after a 10-mile race. He •would, invariably sprint the last lOOvds in ilsec or under. Says Bacon : — ♦'I would Like to offer a fegr hints and words of advice to competitors as regaids their training and what is best to do on tho flay of the race, as I "believe these opinions •based on long and careful experience of my own> 'will be .of service to those who do ijpt. understand. thoroughly the art of longdußtanoe work. The real essence of it is toe' training, which should consist of plenty £! .walking, with pome running sandwiched io. between. A little "clul>swmginK is very good, as it strengthens .the arms. When ' v man becomes beaten in his arms in a ! (distance run it is almost as bad as being ©eaten in the legs, for proper use of th<3 . arms in a distance event ie of great imjwrtance. After a good walk or a good (run the legs should be sponged all over with, warm water and washing soda* or a SOda bath after the run. Men training frill find that it keeps the legs nice and soft. 3Tor distance work the legs should not be too hard, as one is apt to break down at any tjme with the legs hard in long events. Another important item is to have somo loot "powder in your shoes, and plenty of vaseline in the toes either of the socks or Shoes — the powder keeps the feet cool, and ihe vaseline prevents chafing. A pair of ilight cork coles in the shoes is a very good thing, and helps to absorb the road shock in the body and legs when running. It Jnust be remembered that running on the toad produces a greater jar fhan runnincr ■pB a track. Another pood idea is to havo a small hip pocket fitted to the running panvs to carry a small bottle of oil, to be used as iX rub in oa6e of cramp or stiffness. This ijives immediate relief, and enables c man to Resume his race in a few minutes, when he Jnight otherwise have to 'chuck' it # altogether. Cramp ie bad if not immediately ilreated. . The matter of refreshment is of jjreat importance', as a man cannot afford lime to stop for this. My advice ie to get ibout a dozen dried raisins of good quality .^nd soak them in a little of the best brandy 10V two days prior to the race, then put ihem in a fresh small bottle or jar, which ,*an be carried in a small pocket. When >ou begin to feel tired or weak; iust take i -raisin, and the amount of relief and Vigour it will give you will be an astonisher. 1 .always adopted this in my one and twox nour races eb'oad. I also -.sed it in my il-hours' run, and it was the only thinz T did use. I covered 167 miles in the 21 ■purflj and dare say most people are aware j*t I have In my time won 42 ohampion- . Vipe, amateur and professional."

The New Zealander H. Murray had' a couple of "pipe^openers" at the London Athletic Club's summer meeting at Stamford Bridge, but his displays on the flat : and over hurdles were extremely disappointing He showed neither pace nor good jumping, and was _f ar from fit. His first appearance was in the Mile Relay Race. The international team was composed of V. Duncker (South Africa), R. Kerr (Canada, amateur champion), K. Lindberjj (Sweden, amateur champion), H. St. A. Murray (New Zealand amateui champion), R. E." Walker, S. Buddo (Canada) and F. Lukeman (Canada). In the 440 Yards Hurdles Murray (scr) gave an ignominious display. He was opposed by Crump, of Blackheath (18yds start), and Stupart, of South Africa (7yde). in the first heat. The New Zealander hit i the firs' hurdle hard and came a regular , cropper at the second. Crump ako came down, but he was up again in an instant, and with Sltupart not finishing, the Blackheath man won as he liked. The final was won by Groenings (scr) of the L.A.C., in 59sec, Densham (sor), also of the L.A.C.. finishing second three yards away with Crump 18yds off third. The beet performances done at the Scottish championship meeting were in the hammer-throwing, won by Nicolson with i 162 ft llin ; in the shot-putting, won by T. ■ Kirkwood. with 43ft Biin, and .in the broad- . jump, won by G. Stephen, with 21ft llin. ! Lieutenant Halswell won the 220 yds in I 23sec and the 440 yds in 51sec. Something about out old friend Halligan: Two New Zealanders took part in the Scottish Amateur Athletic Championships, decided at Edinburgh —to | wit, E. F. Mackenzie, who is now a student at Edinburgh University, and A. Halligan, an ex-New Zealand champion, who is now residing in the West of Scotland. Both ran in one event only— namely, the 120 Yards Hurdles. Halligan was strongly fancied for this event, but ho ran in indifferent fashion in the final, being beaten two yards by Wateon, of Dundee, who won in 17sec, and by a foot by his compatriot Mackenzie. Some idea of th.3 cost oi trophies alone for tlie Olympian Games may be gathered from the following : —First prizes, 270 gold medals; second prizes, 250 silver medals; third prizes, 334 bronze medals, as well 33 1500 diplomas and 4000 badge 6, were presented to competitors. All those who took part in ihe games received a commemoration medal ; these alone totalled 3800. The amount of wages paid to attendants, cleaners, and gatemen, etc., was over £100 per day. R. Kerr, who won the 200 metres sprint for Canada, has been credited at home wiib 9 4-ssec for the hundred and 21 *-sseo for the furlong. An Indian representative from Canada finished sixth in the -Marathon. Lieutenant HaleweJl, who won, the 400* metres rum, established a British record for 300yde— 31 1-Sseo — recently. Both during the progress of the Olympic Games, and since their conclusion considerable curiosity has been expressed as to H. St. A. Murray's performance in the 400 metres' hurdles. The cable message published in the New Zealand papers stated that C. J. Bacon had beaten "D, Murray, of Dublin," in a heat of that event, but, according to the Australian papers, it was the Canterbury cfiampion who ran second to Bacon. The message, as published in tho Argus and Axistralasian, read: — "Th« New Zealand runner, H. St. Aubyn Murray, of Christchurch, ran second in the 400 Metres Hurdler Race. He was beaten by Bacon, an American, whose lime of 57see constitutes an Olympio record for the event." This indicates that Murray was second in the final, but the messages as they appeared in the Sydney papere etated that Bacon's performance was accomplished in a preliminary heat, so that until advices arrive by mail it wijl be impossible to say how the event has resulted. America had a great team at the Olympic Games. "America has fully a dozen men who can run the 1-00 yards in even time. Dan Kelly, a college "man of California, with the exception of Duffy, is the only man who is accredited with a record of 9 3-ssec; but though ifc_ is impossible to refufcg it, considerable cloubt exists as to the genuineness of his performance. He was badly beaten in the "championships at Jamestown last year, but is to be ranked among the beet candidates. Another candidate from, the West is C. W. Persons, now at Wisconsin University, who represents Portland. His well-accredited )j?cord , is 9 4-ssec. •'The best man in the Eastern States is N. J. Cartnell, tht inter-collegiate champion. He visited England last year, ' and was beaten two or three times by Morton, but -failed to do himself justice, for he is consistently better than even time. We have, also any number of men available for selection who <an do the 100 yards in even time. The same men are available for -the furlong, while in the 440 yards daeh we have Paul Pilgrim, who beat Lieutenant Haswell in England, and Hillman and Mitchell, both of whom went to Athens, but were prevented from competing owing to injuries received on board ship. " Probably the fastest quarter-milo sprinter in the country, however, is J. B. Tavlor, the inter-collegiate champion, who " has equalled,-" and ie believed to be capable of beating, the record of 47 4-ssee establish by Maxie Long. The beat all-round track athlete in the New York district is Harry J. Hillman, who holds the championships from 100 yards to half a mile, as well as the hurdles championship for all lengths and heights. There aro several rjuarter-milers who are better than 50sec. and who are considered superior to Paul Pilgrim, the winner last vcar. "For middle distance's, beside? Lightbo<]y and Pilgrim, who ran at Athens, there arfi Ramey. Haskin«. Parsons. Shepherd. Bromilow, and French, all of whom are Kood for belter than lmin 58sec in the half-mile, while Shepherd has a. mark of lmin sAifc. Ilaekins. too. ha.-, run the fa-stes-t mile <u-er aoeornphshpcl in America since the days of the old champion?. Carter, George, and Day. He does not compare -with th<* English milpre, but has covered ihe dUt.inM> in 4min 20soo. Ramey, M'Goflfin, of Chicaeo ami Michiaran, Moloney and Rowe — all "of them college men — arc ako well to the fore. "Another collegian lonsr-di«tance runner is Colpitts, who recently di-d 105 miles across country in lhr. which is close to the track performance of 59m in 2sec. "Wo have a really pxccpnonal oron of hurdlers who can outclass the men sent to Athens. A- B. Shaw, who made the record of 15sec, beatincr the record of AJvin Kraenzlein bj l-ssec, had it dis-

allowed on account of a following wind ; he is a man of extraordinary ability. Shaw raced in New England in the inter-col-legiate games against J. H. Hubbard, winning two and losing two. Both, however, were beaten by J. H. Garrels, who has frequently visited England, and has also competed in the Olympic Games. He has equalled Kraenzlein's record, and is considered a phenomenal hurdler. Outside of college circles there are no particularly fast hurdlers. Besides being a magnificent hurdler, Garrels is a weight-thrower, a broad and high jumper, and is probably a better discus thrower than Martin Sheridan, who won at Athens, and holds the world's record." Hacltenschmidt, ex-champion wrestler of the world, would seem to have fallen upon evil days. News by the latest English mail is that he was lying seriously ill in the hospital at Aix-la-Chapelle. An operation had already been performed, and as a consequence, it was stated, two fingere of the once mighty man's left hand were paralysed. Writing to England recently. Emil Thiry, manager for Frank Goteh. the American who defeated Hackenschmidt in Chicago a few months ago, said : " Gotch will gladly give Hack, another match, as we are sure the result will be the same. We ■were very much surprised to read the false stories that Hack, gave out in England. While he was in Chicago the day after the match he said he waa perfectly satisfied that the better man had won, and he had no complaint to make. Hack, quit hold while the men were on the floor, with Gotch on top. After an hour and a-. half of wrestling Hack, asked for a draw, but the referee and Gotch refused to agree to such a thing. Gotch never knew who the referee was to be till Smith stepped into the ring. Now, as to Gotch being greased, that is the biggest joke I ever heard of. On the day of the contest Gotch did not have a hand laid on him in regard to a rub down, and he was sitting at the ring-sido until it was time for him to dress, which he did in about five minutes. During two weeks of training the only rubs .down Gotch received were at the Chicago ' Athletic Club, and .the liniment, which was furnished by said olub. consisted of nothing but alcohol and witch-hazel. To make a loner story short, Hack, met a finished wrestler, who is game to the core, and not a poser." Regarding the cablegram that the Americans (Cooke. and Gilbert) cleared 12ft 2in. thus beatine the prior Olympic polevault record, it might be stated that the best performances accomplished at any of the four previous modern Olympiads were the American, Dvorak's (St. Louis), and the Frenchman, Gouder*s (Paris) lift 6in in each ease.. A. C. Gilbert is a wellseasoned pole jumper — he cleared 12ft Sin at New York over two veavs ago, which %v&3 a better achievement than his latest, but in the Olympic "trial games." a1 Philadelphia, early in June, he created a new world"' s record by negotiating !Pfl 7fin. The p-revioua holder of the world's best (12ft s£fn), "W. Drag— a fellow Yale collegian — aleo competed, but could do no better than 12ft 2iin. The Cooke referred to as equalling Gilbert's vault is nossiblv E. T. of that ilk— a University of Michigan representative, and a first-ola6S all-rounder E. T. Cooke has thrown the " hundred "' behind in lOsec. I don't think the New, Zealand walker A. E. M. Rowlands is in ciny danger of breaking his sideboard down with the weight of the prizes he has won since he came to the" Old Country for some time to come (says a London correspondent). He has, however, made a start. At the Gray Valley Cycle and Motor Club's sports last month Rowlands won the open Threemile Walking Race from* the 150 yds mark, E. J. Webb, of the Herne Hill Harriers, being at scratch. The New Zealander walked in better form than he has 6hown before in the Old Country, and won a gran-d race by three yards from Jacobs, of the Polytechnic (320yde), in 20min 54 4-ssec. Webb finished close up. his timo for the full distace being 20min 58 l-ssec.