THE MARATHON ROAD-RACE.

NZ Truth, Issue 64, 8 September 1906, Page 6

THE MARATHON ROAD-RACE.

— «» Will Sherring, the Canadian, tells us How He Won It.

What He Bid for Canada, and What Canada Did for Him.

"How I won the Marathon Road Race and a fortune" might be the title of an interesting recital by William P. Sherring, of Hamilton, Canada. Mr'- Sherring, however, doesn't give his tale a title ; he just tells his story m a simple, unaffected way.

When the famous Olympic games took place at Athens m May - great interest centred about the Marathon race of 26 miles. Fifty-eight fleet athletes from all parts of the world competed, yet the young Canadian came m air easy winner, making the distance in -2 hours and 51 seconds.

The victory of Sherrihg was all the mdre i remarkable 'because he-went j^ftiqne to Gretice, was without a man),agf?r,. trained himself,, paced himself m the race,- ami won' over more than half a hundred representatives., of other nations. . •

So highly elated were the Canadians over the success of their countryman that they have showered Sifts upon him with' lavish hand. The King of Greece has sent fcim a present, as have also the people of that country. Prom Canadian admirers he has received.'over £7000 m money and a government position.

"Two months before the ' great Olympic games I arrived* in Greece,", ;said Mr Sherring, telling of his feat ein mastering the world's .fleetest runners.; :. T -.V .

"I had no manager, no trainer, no assistant, but' trained myself, living during that time on goat's milk and lamb. ' .

. ""Orn r most of the days the thermometer stood about 80 degrees; and on the day 6f the race it felt to m 6 •like 90. I kept at my' training, following -.simple!; rules that 'appealed to niv judgment, and' watching the other fellows enjoying the advantages of trainers, pacers, and the like. The night before the race I slept on the , floor . t .; ; • ' : , ;.;' .. ... . , '

■■■ "It was the toughest race I was ever m. Fifty-eight of us started.

At the beginning eight broke away ''very last, and went well into the lead. I felt it was too fast to keep ■'.tin,.- so ''l' did not stay with them. • ' "The roads were pretty even "for 'the first few riiiles, but we ' ran m- a scorching sun', with the dust six finches deep anti a strong wind blow'!,)nc m, our fac^s.' : ,' .',. :j J 'l jogged, along, -going, easy and Icee.p.ujg •my strength' for tlie difficult

hills, ; ,l i; ktiew, we would encounter to-; the end. When, we had covered:

; io miles, Blake,

who seemed the;

moSt dangerous, was half a anile- a- ' head, of me. . Then lie showed signs oi; distress, and I knew -I had him beaten. ' . . ■ "Daly, the Irishman, was going 'he-: hind him ; Cbrmack, another Irish-? man,' was third; Regaault was fourth, and I was fifth; I passed* Brake final-* ly after running twelve miles. : Going fcv, I stopped, shook hands with hini> and said' : 'Good-bye, oW man ; sorry, jto leave you!' ; "At fifteen miles Hooked hack the;, road for a .mile and a half, and Icould not see a soul 1 . At eighteen,

miles out I was quite a hit ahead,

and I thought 'there'. was. ..no. use. in* lulling myself, so I .walked 1 , a-jquarterv , jof- .a, mile. ; „-..■■. . :

"I did" not have to-'Wallt,; I could; JifWe kept ,the pace.- up alb-day ; ' m( fact, I feel I could- 'have runt^ie race minutes fasterif I badveried. • ".Prince George of Greece ran^ pvith me at the end^of -the race.

"What advice would you. give as- r ipiring youngr athletes .who iriay desire-; to duplicate your achievement?""'' Sherring was asked. i

- "Those who hope to win must go to work '■.■ wkthv- that determinationthat -brings success- in every, walk of' life," responded the champion runner. "Faithful; trainiifcg is of course of •first importance. The ruimer should j go to bed early and abstain from alii intoxicating liquors." If any young | man has athletic ability and observes these very simple rules, success is assured m the end."'

i That Sherring followed the rules., laid down by himiself is attested .fty, ..the other athletes- who took -part in* .the various events m the Olympic 1 games. He depended entirely ; upon his speed, stamina and Judgment. > He was probably the smallest man m the race, standing only s£t 7in.~ Dressed for action, Snerring is seen ,to be lithe 'of limbs, and as dean as.. 'a thoroughbred. He- has long legs, and runs with an easy, graceful JEtride; ■ > . Sherring weighed 1121 b when heshowed his heels to the finest longdistance athletes the . world produced. He has ho affectations or mannerisms ; is cool, not mock-modest or unduly elated over his triumph, al- ' though he appreciates the importance of his victory. ;

Well poised, alerfband business-like, Sherring impresses one as possessing sufficient self-reliance to win his way. Only once upon th/s entire trip was lie dejected, and that, strangely enough, was upon wearing the shores of home., returning /from victory. He- had left Hamilton about the end of February, ai/d had been at .the scene of athlete battle ever since .early ' March. ' Sher ring's occupation 'was that of a' railroad gateman and flrakeman, ant\ he was not well provided with money. It was by drawring his scan' ty savings and through the aid of b fiends that he got together sufficie; it to make the trip. i That he .'had none too much is ••Shown by the fact that, although he had lived, frugally, when he reached New Yo^rk on his return, he, had only T> dollars m his pocket, arid no. ticket to his; home m Canada.

This ca. used him, ; he said, to feel •very nmch "down m the mouth." Memory of his triumph faded before the, peremptory demands of the present. '

.It wa»3 an immense relief when he Raw wa/iting for him upon the steamship pier a. number of iriOnds from iiis native town. . >

Since then he has encountered the good . fortune that attends the conquering hero. The King of Greece has sent him sufficient money to repay all his training expenses, and has also forwarded to him a handsome statue of the ancient Greek goddess Minerva.

A large statue . of Hermes, a gift from the people of Greece, is also on its way to his home. Public and private testimonials to the, runner have amounted to more than 7000 dollars.

The citizens of Hamilton contributed 3600 dols. to a purse, which was among the earliest presented. From the Ottawa Government came an appropriation of COO dollars ; from" the City Council of Hamilton another grant of equal amount ; the people of Toronto gave 400 dollars, and the Toronto baseball club contributed 1270 dollars.

The. Canadian Government declined ;to make any cash grant; tjo the Shelving fund, but, instead, gaye him a .p.ositipn m the Hamilton custom house,, with an initial salary of 60 dollars a month.

This salary will increase with promotions, if Sherring proves as good a government official as he is a runner..

All this is great good fortune to the man who as a railroad brakeman and gateman earned a salary of 35 dollars to 40 dollars a month.

Money is still coming to swell the testimonial fund. When the returns are all m; Sherring will look about for a suitable investment.

It is understood that a house and lot will be purchased, where the athlete's, aged father and mother may spend their remaining days m comfort.

rSherrinp: is unmarried and of sober liabits, the extent of his indulging being a good cigar, preferring a large one. He is an" only son of Mr and : Mrs John Sherring, humble and rather poor people. ;

- A more devoted son parents never Md. The white-haired father greeted the -son with great affection on his return.

Shearing is one of a coterie of long-distance runners who have made Hamilton noted throughout America, and he has now spread her fame throughout the world. He has been ruaning since 1.896, when he made ■his debut m a five r mile event at Bartonville county fair and finished fourth.. *

He; ran m several short-distance .events,, but he did, not become prominent until he participated m a road race, m 1897, when he finished third jn a big field of starters. After that he began to be looked upon as a .comer.. .. /■ - One of the greatest races 'in which rhe ever ran was one m 1899. That year Jack Caffery was a slight favo•rite'over Sherring, but the latter won after a desperate struggle, beating Caffery hy 1 minute 17 seconds./ He was twice "beaten by Caffery m &900., ■'...■■•

- In the Boston Marathon, Sherring was •m the lead for eighteen miles, but apparently shot his ' holt, for he fell m a-semi-conscious condition on the road-' side and five men passed him ; arousing himself, he put up. a game struggle, and finished next to CaGery. He, won a 20-mile race m Guelph, Can~f ada, m,. 1903. This was his last long-? distance effort previous to participa-, tion m the world-famous Olympicevent., .___