ATHLETICS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 277, 27 November 1935, Page 4

ATHLETICS

■Bv

“MERCURY."

The weather was ideal last Thursday for the Wanganui Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club’s twilight meeting. Excellent entries were received for all the event and close finishes were the order of the meeting. The increase in the number of spectators each week has been most noticeable and the sport is gradually recovering the ground lost in the last five years. Many spectators, however, gather on the oval to the disadvantage if competitors and officials. Spectators should keep to the stand, where an excellent view of the proceedings can be obtained A. Garfath finished second in the mile and showed that although he is nnt very fast he can last the distance. More attention to style will greatly benefit this runner. E. Gowan strode along well and at one stag** of the race it appeared that he would be in at the finish; he petered out in the last lap. however, I ut it should not be long before he is in '.he first three home. Johnston, who won both the 120yds. distance runners' sprint, and the one mile open ran well above his usual form, especially in the sprint race, where he showed considerable pace. In The mile event-he ran with excellent judgment and won comfortably. The 300 yards sprint disclosed =ome poor tactics on the part of the competitors on the front marks. The si-ratch man was allowed to catch the field with 100 yards ’till to go and the rare resolved itself into a sprint from the bottom of the straight. M<Cormick displayed stamina to hang on long enough to gain second place from McCashin, who also showed an improve merit over previous form. Stephenson is showing signs of improvement and it will not be long before he reaches last year’s form again. The races to be derided on Thursday n* \'t are the 220 yards open, one ann a half miles open. 120 yards distance runners’ sprint, three miles cycle, and three field events. Some excellent competition should eventuate as the competitors are beginning to settle ciown, and the handicapper i< now able to judge the merits ot tne new runners. Rill’, who showed a great Improvement in style and -triding, will require more fast work before he reaches the top of his form. • oTlings ran his Lest race to date. It i- always pleasing to see a back marker finish with a rattle. On Wednesday. December f*. an open athletic meeting will be held at t’ook’s Gardens. The events Include:— Cycling: Quarter mile open, mile A grade, mile R grade, two miles open and three miles open. Field events: Hop. step and jump, shot put and broad jump. Running: 100 yards, 220 yards. *llO yards and BSO yards, mile. Entries < lose on December 11. The Wanganui Club is sending a team to Wellington on January 25 and on February 8 a return visit will be paid to Wanganui by the Kiwi aud Wellington t’luDs. The New Zealand cycling rhanipion slips are to be stage*! at Cook’s Gardens. No date has yet been arranged. I it the meeting will be held before the end of February. A word of praise is due to the caretaker at Cook’s Ga lens, Mr. (J. Raughan. for the excellent manner in which he has prepared the ground for the season’s events. Mr. Baughan is untiring in his efforts to maintain Cook’s Gardens as one of the finest athletic grounds in the Dominion and this season the track is better than ever. Wanganui athletes are fortunate in having such a fine ground situated so close to the centre of the city. The allocation of the New Zealand reding championships to Wanganui has resulted in a revival ot interest in this sport. The races at last Thursday evening’s meeting were keenly contested. The two mile event at one stage, with the field spread out. looked to be in the lands of the front markers, but the distance told the tale. J. Wade was able to bridge the handicaps and his final sprint saw him win from Neilson. Anderson and T’idwell. It is pleasing to see several Maori t ryclists taking part in these club races. Neilson, a Maori who rides in from M.txwcll tn compete, is showing very good promise and with a little more experience and training will be a tough nut to head off as he already has shown quite a good finishing sprint. The usual two sc rat h races were held, Wade winning the A grade and Neilson the R grade, though Casey made a great race of the B grade with him. A habit tn.it seems tn be growing Among the riders when they open nut at the end of their pacing lap is to switch right up the bank. This should not be done as the rider loses contact ■with the field and should anyone jump through he can only regain his position by another switch down the track, which is dangerous both to himself and the rest nf the riders. With regard to pacing and lap changing, one could write a lot. The main thing though is the rider completing bis lap’s pacing should not slacken at all but only veer out sufficient to allow the following rider through, and this rider must quicken his pace to take the lead and rot compel the last pacemaker to slow down so as to be able to drop behind the bunch. Tan Ross is reported to have been seen on the track lately. Apparently lan is attempting a come-back and we wish him the best of success. Since Ross gave up active competition he has been a most valued administrator of the sport, holding the position of secretary of the West Coast Centre and doing very valuable work in getting this centre established. Should “Rossy.” as he is known, strike anything like his old form J. Wade and Co. will have to step on it to hold their reputations. Perhaps Ross’ best ride was his defeat of “Fatty” Lamb on Cook’s Gardens some five to seven years ago. Incidentally Fatty” Lamb is still riding with quite a lot of success in Aus- j tralia and has figured among the fast- j ost time makers in some of the long < T oad races*

Excellent support is being accorded the field events section. The events are under the control of Mr. J. Morgan. who is taking a keen interest in the advancement of the competitions. Good distances were registered in the putting the shot event last Thursday night. IL Steere won the competition with a distance of 39ft. Ilin, off scratch, an excellent effort considering that he has just started training. S. Nolan was second with 39ft. 3in. from’ scratch. No club can boast of two lifeletes to equal these figures, the New Zealand standard being 39ft. J. Wilson was third with 38ft. Ilin, but he is sure of a three foot improvement in the next competition if he heeds the advice that has been given to him. He gained second pl're in the long jump and would have done better but for a faulty take off. A. J. Darby, who was Wanganui’s ‘star jumper several years ago, was placed third in the long jump and won the high jump at sft. 2in. He just failed to clear sft. 4in. A. Sexton could not produce his for. in the high and long jumps off scratch and apparently was having an off day. Sexton is again practising for the pole vault. E. McCormick also competed in the long jump and would have been placed bad he not jumped low. He has plenty of pace from the take off. E. ilson won the long jump of 19ft. sin. and displayed an iniprovinertet in style. Two schoolboy athletes of undoubted promise ran themselves into more than passing prominence at the inter-second-ary school athletics meeting held at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, on November 16, .hen teams from eight schools competed for the championship shield. T. Tulloch, a Maori youth, from Silverstrea- i, and R. A. Longley, a pupil at Wellington College, were the two upon whom most attention was concentrated. Tulloch won the 100 yards, the 220 yards and the 440 yards, equalling the record of 10 1-5 in the first, running the second in 23 3-5, and breaking the record for the quarter mile, the 880 yards and the one mile, and broke the record of each; the first l e ran in 2.2 3-5, and the second in 4.40, clipping 12 2-5 seconds off the record. Tulloch is a very well built youngster with much natural fleetness of foot, an improving style and a very useful, determined finishing burst. U ith proper coaching he should develop into a sprinter of exceptional merit. Now that training is practically in full swing locally some hints on the way to carry it out may be of use to inexperienced athletes. With the changeable weather experienced this month one point that cannot be stressed too strongly is the necessity for athletes to be adequately clad. In training at any time both a sweater and long trousers should be worn and removed only for last running, and then only when the evening is warm. If there is any chill in the air the athlete is only • lurting trouble to work quietly in runing clothes. It should be remembered always that body warmth is practie: ' essenii successful competition or training. Keeping warm not only reduces tne danger of muscle trouble, but also contributes largely to maximum performance in competitive work It cannot be emphasised to forcibly the necessity of training by slow stages, but it would appear that even experienced men ( are inclined to go all out during the first week or two, which is only asking for trouble. They should work gradually from jogg.ng to more advanced stages of training if they wish to achieve maximum efficiency. The cause of most athletic breakdowns can be attributed directly to the failurc to observe the necessity of training by easy stages. Athletes who have hopes of distinguishing themselves in the important February meetings, .-mould be very careful not to ftverdo things at present, but rather aim to regulate their training ami competitive work so as to reach their maximum performance for the New Zealand and cent re championships. Another point that should be observed is the desirability of taking tiling very easily to commence with, no in a tetr for what event the athlete is training. In the initial stages, whatever the distance, the training should be confined wholly to jogging, but so many runners do not realise this essentTal. There is no finer way of tuning up the whole system than by jogging. It gives a physical foundation on which to build, particularly from the point of view* of his legs. Like body warmth, it also eliminates, to a xery large degree, the possibility later of pulled and strained muscles. E. Brandon has not yet competed in the twilight races this season. It.is hoped that this runner has not forgotten that the first open meeting in Wanganui takes place within the next month. Racing is the thing needed to bring an athlete into form. In the 300-yard event last week, L. Burgess ran a fine race from the scratch mark to win by a yard. His efforts this season indicate that he will be a formidable opponent in the sprint events this season. A. Bourgeois was nut for light training over the week-end for the first time this season. He has been spelling after a strenuous harrier season. E. Carvel* is settling down to proper training. His foot injury has healed sufficiently to allow more strenuous training. Simpson had his first training run this season on Monday night. He has just concluded examinations and now intends to ’commence strict training. His appearance is welcomed in all circles of the sport.