Feet.—A great deal in running depends upon the way the feet are placed. The toe of the foot should reach out for the ground; the toe should be pointed straight ahead and each foot should be put down on the ground directly in front of its former position. The runner should take care not to run heavily, and she should, whether in practice or competition, always stride well up on her toes.
In running you should always think of yourself as a unit, running with the smoothest possible action. Some runners are not units, but arms, legs, body and knees, all wobbling in different ways, giving the general appearance of falling apart. Yet you must not go too far the other way, that is, don’t run tensely. Be limber but not loose. Try to get all the spring and lightness possible. To do this get the balance over the feet; don’t run with balance too far forward or too far back.
The Start.—The crouch start is conceded to be the best. This should be practised until the runner learns to get away at the word “go,” to get the proper push with the rear leg, and to rise to an upright position gradually. There are three counts for the crouching start: “Get ready.” The fingers are placed just behind starting line; the arms should be carried straight down from the shoulders, thus making the hands shoulder width apart; the runners then kneel on one knee, either right or left, according to preference; the toe of the forward foot should be as close to starting line as is comfortable for runner; the knee of rear leg should be on a line with front leg, close up to it, with lower part of leg (that is, below the knee) reaching back as far as possible in a straight line from the knee. A hole should be dug for the toe of each foot. “Get set.” The rear knee is raised, the whole body tense ready for the spring; the weight is thrown over the front knee so that the toe of front foot feels the weight and can get a good push over; the head is up; the whole strength of the body seems concentrated in the muscles used in springing forward. “Go” (or the pistol shot). The sprinter springs forward with all the force possible from the front foot. But she should not assume an upright position at once, but gradually, after three or four strides have been taken. In other starts you stand upright with one leg back, other leg front. Front leg is slightly bent, weight of body is over front leg.
Hurdling.
In hurdling, the crouching start is very important. All the form of sprinting should be considered and also there should be perfect form over the hurdles. A girl may be a fast runner, but if she cannot take the hurdles well and quickly she will be defeated by a slower girl who can. Many hurdlers twist toward the side, or, in landing, land too far to one side of hurdle. First the approach from the start to the first hurdle should be carefully measured by strides. The runner should always take just this number of strides. The strides between each hurdle should be counted also. Then a mark should be made in front of each hurdle, from which point the hurdler should always rise to the hurdles. The long low stride is the best over the hurdles. There are two forms of hurdling, that of the leg bent sideways, usually recommended for girls, and the “straight-leg.” For the first, the front leg—leg first over the hurdle in the stride—is bent across the other leg; the arms are stretched out toward the side; the rear leg is trailed over the hurdle; the front foot reaches the ground first, the hurdler landing squarely on the ball of the foot, the toe pointed straight ahead. Personally, I prefer the “straight-leg” hurdle to the “side-leg” style. In the latter the rise over the hurdle is greater, the upright position of the trunk meets more resistance from the air, the landing is made with more of a jar. In the “straight-leg” the stride over hurdle is long and as low as possible; the body is bent as far over the front leg as possible; the front leg shoots over the hurdle straight, for as great a distance as possible, the arm (on same side of body) is forward when leg is; the rear leg is trailed, extending slightly to the side from the thigh to the toe; the weight of body is as far forward as possible, thus enabling a longer stride; the front foot should land on ground, on the ball, toe pointed forward; the rear foot should be ready to shoot out for next stride. My advice is for hurdlers to practice until they are sure of themselves before running in a race. They must not hesitate before hurdles, thus forced to jump off both feet. The rise should be with the least possible effort; the landing should be light, the runner immediately resuming the stride. Never be afraid of a hurdle. Practice until you are perfect and sure of yourself, and sure of the hurdle. Confidence makes you successful.
Running Broad Jump.
There are two important parts to the running broad jump—the run and the jump. The run should not be so long as to tire the jumper. The first few strides are slow, then at a mark placed by the jumper the speed increases until the take-off is reached. The momentum gathered in this run aids in the jump greatly, thus it is important that a mark be made the proper number of strides away from the take-off. The foot which takes the jump from the take-off should always be the same one, therefore the strides before the take-off should be carefully observed.
A spring is made when the foot lands on the take-off. It is a foul to step over the take-off. After the jumper has given the best leap possible from the ball of the foot on the take-off, she tries to augment this leap by drawing her legs up under her, throwing her arms up and forward. When nearing ground the feet should shoot forward, the whole body thrown so that the balance is forward. This insures a better landing. The jump should be high. Many coaches teach the girls to jump over a bar, thus forming a habit of getting height. It is always well to fix your eye on a point about four feet high and beyond the distance you can jump. Fix your eye on this at the beginning of the run and keep it there until a landing is made.
Standing Broad Jump.
The jumper stands with both feet on the take-off, toes overlapping the outer edge to get a grip. Many jumpers like to rock back and forth on the toes, knees slightly bent; the arms also are swung gently backward and forward. When the jumper is ready to spring, the arms should be held above the head and brought back with a snap as the spring is made, with the knees bent forward and all the strength concentrated for the jump. As in the running broad, the jump should be high, thus the eyes should be fixed on a spot high and beyond the distance you expect to jump. While in the air, shoot the arms, legs and body as far forward as possible in order to gain distance.