The usual hurdle race distance is 120 yards, with 10 flights of hurdles 3ft. 6in. high and 10 yards apart. This gives a run of 15 yards at both ends. The quickest way of getting over them is by taking them in stride, or technically bucking them. If the ground is firm and level, this can be done, and three strides will take the jumper from hurdle to hurdle, the fourth taking him over. Should the ground be uneven, slippery or heavy, great care is required in bucking them. Touching the top bar will inevitably be followed by a fall or a stumble sufficient to put the jumper out of the race. In bucking, the spring is taken from one leg, and the alight comes on the other; so that the jump, instead of being an actual interruption of the regular strides, as happens when the spring and the alight come on the same leg, is merely an exaggerated stride. The advantage of bucking is apparent to anyone who has tried both systems under favorable circumstances, and who is strong enough to bear the strain which the high hurdles require. The lower the hurdles are, the greater is the superiority of bucking over jumping. To acquire the art of taking the hurdles in stride, practice over jumps about 2ft. 6in. high, at the proper distance apart, until the style is learnt.
HARRY VAUGHAN, The Famous English Long-distance Walker.
JOHN HUGHES, First Winner O’Leary International Belt.
DAN’L O’LEARY.
HINTS IN, BEFORE, AND AFTER THE RACE.
In sprinting, a good start is of such importance that we would suggest a careful practice in it. It is a curious fact that a novice will invariably start with one foot a yard or so behind the other, either with the body bent down low, or with the body erect, and swinging the arms as if they were the means of propulsion about to be trusted to. In the former case, he runs one yard more than his distance, in the latter he exhausts and unsteadies himself. Start with both feet within six inches of one another, the weight of the body resting on that foot which is farthest from the scratch, and the toe on the side nearest the goal, just touching the ground, and ready to take the first step over the mark; the body must be kept well up, so that the first spring is taken steadily and in a straight line. As this method is the quickest for getting off the mark, it will apply to every description of pedestrianism.