Excerpt from Track Athletics Up to Date There are many of us, at the present day, who are enthusiastic over sports on track and field. And yet, in spite of our interest, have we ever tried to study our subject systematically? Have we ever acquired more than a "fair general ignorance" regarding it? To make my meaning clear, let us consider, by way of comparison, the familiar example of the attorney who is consulted upon a point of law. Rarely, if he is a man of experience, does he give his answer offhand, but, on the contrary, his first act is to consult the authorities and to read the decisions of the courts and the theories of the text writers on the point in question. Then, and then only, is he in a position to express an intelligent opinion upon the case. It is this principle which I have borne in mind in writing the present volume. First, I have endeavored to trace, with brevity, the history of track athletics; next, I have noted some of the best of the many books, pamphlets and special articles which have been written on this subject; and lastly, I have tried to summarize, in the year 1919, our present knowledge of proper methods of training and of performing the various events on track and field. The idea itself is, I think, sound, and, within its special field, not without novelty. Of the manner in which I have developed it, the reader, of course, must be the judge. I desire to record here my sincere thanks to Mr. Michael J. Conroy, of the staff of the Boston Public Library, for his unfailing kindness in helping me to bring together the varied material upon which this book is based. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.