Coast To Coast Marathon.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18469, 22 May 1928, Page 14

Coast To Coast Marathon.

The greatest long-distance foot-race on record, across the United States, starting at Los Angeles and finishing at New York, a distance of 3400 miles, was commenced on March 4. At 3.30 in the afternoon, 241 athletes of all shapes and sizes, representing many countries, and attired in every conceivable type of outfit, paraded with flags flying, and five minutes later were started on their long trek to New York. The conditions of the race provide that a certain distance mtist be covered each day within a certain time to enable a competitor to remain in the contest. The time limit expires each night at midnight. On the following morning all the survivors are eligible to start at a given hour. Each man's time over each separate distance is recorded, and the one having the best aggregate will be the winner. The competitors are accompanied by motor vans carrying officials, newspaper men, doctors, umpires, shoe repairers, photographers, food distributors, who will feed the contestants their noon meals as they go, as well as trucks with camp equipment and personal effects. The winner will receive 25,000 dollars, second man 10,000 dollars, third 5000 dollars, fourth 2500 dollars, and the next six 1000 dollars. Amongst the starters were three British representatives—Arthur Newton, of South Africa, and holder of the 100 miles; Charles Hart, sixtv-three years of age, and a former record-holder; and Peter Gavuzzi. Other starters included several Americans who had won fame as long-distance runners, amongst them being the American Finn Willia Kolehmainen, brother of Hans, winner of the

1920 Olympic Marathon; Gunnar Nielsen and Nestor Ericksen, also American Finns; and Seth Gonzales, winner of four Californian Marathons in succession. The favourite was Nicholas Quamowahu, a pure-blooded American Indian of the Hopi tribe. The latest records of the race to hand are up to and including May 19, and the leading times were as follows:

The total distance covered at the end of tLo sixteenth lap on March 19 was 575.%2, miles, and by that time about half of the starters had retired, most from blistered feet, strained muscles or sprains. Newton, the South African, had a lead of over nine hours on the completion of the fifteenth lap, and was compelled to retire through injuring an ankle in the previous lap lie had finishd first in seven of the laps. . Hart, the veteran Englishman, retired in the eleventh lap from exhaustion, and that lap also saw the retirement of Quamowahu, the favourite, through a sprained ankle. Kolehmainen, who finished first in the first two laps, retired in the third through a strained tendon.

Tl. Time. Leaders .h. m. s A. Payne, U.S 99 17 — J. Cronick, Canada 102 17 15 N. Erickson U.S 107 19 37 J. Salo, U.S 111 10 — P. Hamilton, Canada 111 19 40 E. Cordner, U.S . 111 37 41 G. Clarizio, U.S 112 57 20 W. Kerr, U.S 116 25 34 E. Dilks, U.S 122 44 45 H. Swabev, Canada 123 28 — P. Guvazzi, England 125 4 20 “ Half had Fallen Out.”