ACROSS COUNTRY

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 44, 14 May 1927, Page 13

ACROSS COUNTRY

THE DISTANCE MEN NOTES ON TRAINING KELLS AND SAVIDAN Auckland’s crack athletes, some of whom fly championship colours, faced the starter at the opening of the crosscountry season at the Domain last Saturday. According to the times on register, it is evident that many of those concerned are racing fit and when the big event of the year, the New Zealand cross-country championship, comes along, the Auckland representatives who put up such creditable performances last year, have good chances of retaining the honours. With an eye to the doings of some of Auckland’s long-distance runners during the past 12 months it appears that the idea of training, in some cases, is sadly misunderstood. G. Kells is the present holder of the New Zealand cross-country honours, but during the summer his form was very in and out. It was evident that toward the finish he was over-trained and stale. However, the young champion was wise enough to take a spell and according to his performance last Saturday when he defeated Savidan over a steeplechase course of roughly 2?: miles, he seems to have regained his old form and is in trim again. THE CASE OF SAVIDAN

Talking of Savidan recalls the fact that last September this fine runner left his true cross-country form on the track two or three days before the big event. Fresh back from Brisbane, he went out on a gruelling run over the course, which gave him no time to pick up his form again. At the N.Z.A.A.A. championships in February, however, Savidan had profited by his experience in the previous year. He was right at the top of his form when he reeled off a clinking three miles at the Domain on the Friday, and further honours followed the next day. A whole book could be written on training. What suits one man, may not suit another. Commonsense must be the guiding factor. One thing can be said, however, and that is that once a man has settled down in his training for the season, the hardest part of it is to retain his form, and not to go stale. DANGERS OF OVER-TRAINING Experience leads to the belief that the enthusiastic young runner is more in danger of over-training than undertraining. It was the Americans who first reversed the old order of things by laying it down as a maxim that in training an athlete should not run the full distance he is training for, except in a special try-out, say a week or two before the event. Training should be part and parcel of an everyday, healthy life; not a gruelling period of self-denial. Once a man gets fit, the ordinary weekly competition should keep him going through a season, with light work during the week. That is, unless he tends to put on weight rapidly. THE DAY OF THE RACE

With a big race coming off on a Saturday an experienced runner would rest for at least two days before the event. A run on Wednesday would be quite permissible, but no more than a quiet walk on Thursday and Friday. An athlete should come to the starting post for a long distance race feeling keen on his task.

An important matter on the day of the race is his diet. Some athletes find their digestive organs do not work quite normally during the anxious hours just before the big event. “The nervous tension,” says A. B. George, an old and experienced athlete, “frequently upsets the stomach and sometimes takes away the inclination to eat.”

There is no occasion for the young athlete to worry himself unduly should he experience anything of this sort. Some of the greatest champions and record-breakers in athletic history.have been through the same thing. As a rule, the nervous feeling goes away when the time comes to compete, and not infrequently the man of that temperament does better than the dull, unimaginative athlete who feels little. DIETING It is certain that no athlete can compete on an empty stomach, but just what constitutes the best form of diet on the day of a big race must be a matter of opinion and based on one’s own experience. It has often been said by various sporting writers that the average individual would be safe in selecting a chop, greens, a very little potato, toast and stewed fruit. Guard against “sloppy foods.” T ale or water may be taken as preferred. The drinking of spirits is certainly detrimental to training but ale taken in moderation does no harm. This last meal should at least be eaten two hours before the race. It is sometimes difficult for athletes to get their last meal just when they wish. Circumstances often make it advisable to make the breakfast more substantial than usual. A new-laid egg about an hour and a-half before the race has also been found to be substantial and suited to most runners. TRACK JUDGMENT The less-experienced runners should keep an eye on tried athletes, who will best know what pace to start at. Good judgment is vital, and it is generally best to start slowly. The big majority of cross-country runners rush away as though only going a mile on the flat. As a consequence, they are “cooked” after a couple of miles and the rest of the journey is just a painfLil plod. Nearly every man who takes part in a crosscountry race would do himself and his team more credit if he started slowly and allowed his muscles to warm up thoroughly before commencing to stride out. It pays to take time to settle down, and if some of the competitors in the coming New Zealand cross-country championships will take the bold course of going off without trying to cram the pace on, and making no attempt to race until they feel the urge, they will astonish themselves and their club-mates. After going a couple of miles or so at what is really a gentle training pace, there will come a delightful feeling of enjoyment and an inclination to lengthen out.