Harriers’ Road Race Soon

Southland Times, Issue 23888, 5 August 1939, Page 15

Harriers’ Road Race Soon

By

WHISTLE

In five weeks’ time the last race of the season, the Southland road race, is to be run. This event usually marks the close of the season’s activities, and this year’s race is no exception as the clubs will hold their final runs the following week. The road race, which is a handicap event, is run over a standard course starting from the Town Hall and embracing the northern square of the city via Elies road, River road and Dee street. The distance is almost five miles and the greater part of the surface is bitumen.

From now on those harriers who intend competing in this event should concentrate on road work. Experience has proved that a runner going from track to road racing without preparation will find his leg muscles tied in knots at the end of a few miles. Most of the local men have already done a good deal of road training in the course of preparation for the recent cross-country events and should not suffer any set-back on the solid going. However, any runner who has been holding back for the road race should get in as much hard work as possible during the next month. Plenty of walking and regular physical exercise should be maintained as aids to training. If muscles should give trouble in road work; hot water and massage will put them right. Always massage' towards the heart. >

The Otago team to represent the province in the national cross-country championships at Hastings next Saturday is a strong combination. Led by A. R. Geddes it should be capable of adding to Otago’s long list of successes in this event. During recent years especially, Otago has had a monopoly on the national title. Private advice from Dunedin states that because of a member of the team being unavailable J- R. Hubber is now first emergency. It is unlikely, however, that he will travel to Hastings as the Otago Centre intends confining the team to six men.

The news that W. A. C. Pullar had succeeded in winning the Wellington provincial title would be interesting to Otago and Southland harriers. Pullar was for some years Otago’s outstanding distance and cross-country runner. He first came to the fore when he won the Otago and national titles at Wingatui in the 1933 season. Southlanders’ most vivid recollection of him will probably be the occasion on which he won the three-mile championship of Southland in pouring rain and on a sodden track. As announced last week, both local clubs are having a “holiday” today because of the shield game. After the postponement of the match last Saturday, both clubs put on runs at a few hours’ notice and the attendances were surprisingly good. The Invercargill Club in particular had two new men out.

Next Saturday should see the packs back at full strength in prenaration for the road race. The Invercargill men will be the guests of Mr and Mrs J. J. Chaplin for the afternoon, and the St. Paul’s harriers will run from the residence of Mr and Mrs R. Penman, Yarrow street.