Ten miles has been run in 51m. 20s.
Twenty miles in 1h. 57m. 27s.
A mile has been walked in 6m. 23s., but only once, by the same man who walked 8 1-11 miles in one hour, 15 1-2 miles in two hours, 22 1-4 miles in three hours.
These records should be kept in the memory as convenient, so that the amateur may gauge his own powers correctly by the best professional work.
[JUMPING AND POLE-LEAPING.]
The sport of Jumping is one of those most beneficial to the health and muscles of any commonly practiced. It is divided into three branches: 1, Standing Jumps; 2, Running Jumps; 3, Pole-Leaping.
Standing jumps are either high or broad, the latter being the most common. The secret of making a high standing jump consists in standing sidewise to the bar or tape, and throwing the body over as if vaulting with one hand, arching the back inward as much as possible. The best standing high jumper on record is E. W. Johnson, a Toronto man, now keeper of the Baltimore Athletic Club Gymnasium. He jumped a bar 5 feet 3 inches high, at the Caledonian Games, at Baltimore, May 27, 1878. This beats the best English records 5 inches. In jumping, Johnson leaves the ground with the right foot first, as in the cut on next page, which shows the direction in which his feet go over the bar. The cut also shows the common leaping-bar and standards furnished with holes three inches apart, in which pegs are stuck to support the bar on the side opposite the jumper. If he strikes it by accident it falls without hurting him, being merely a light strip of pine scantling.
The standing broad jump is made straight forward into a piece of soft earth which has been dug up for the purpose. It is made with or without weights in the hands, and depends on the strength of the thigh and calf of the jumper, and on long practice.