3° THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 
whom this inquiry was addressed, strengthens my conviction that 
unless a boy is unusually well developed, he should not take up dis- 
tance running in earnest until eighteen years of age, and leads me to 
believe, furthermore, that the practise of running school boys daily 
from the beginning of the school year in order that they may compete 
in the spring, is a bad one, as is also that of running them in so many 
races during the season. 
But there was found to be a credit as well as a debit side in the 
effects of running upon the heart. One man writes: “My train- 
ing and running caused previous heart and lung trouble to disap- ° 
pear”; another, “transformed a nervous heart into a normal one”; 
another, “transformed a heart beating 100 usually, with occasional 
palpitation, into a normal one and caused the palpitation to disap- 
pear”; another, “ when I began running, I was so weak that I was 
supposed to go down stairs backward—at the last physical examina- 
tion I was found to have one of the best hearts in the school. Ran 
four years from 440 yards up to seven miles.” 
Other Injuries.—In response to the question “ Has racing ever in- 
juriously affected you, and how?” eight men testify to temporary in- 
jury due to over training or to racing when in poor condition, such 
as weak stomach, run-down condition, nervous breakdown, etc., the 
bad effects lasting from several weeks to as long as twelve months in 
one instance. One of these men ran the half mile, mile and two 
miles in one afternoon several times each year of his course of four 
years. This, of course, was simply inviting disaster, and it is diffi- 
cult to understand how any college trainer could have permitted it. 
This brings us directly to a statement by one of the most famous 
athletes this country has ever produced, namely that 
The great trouble in my opinion is the lack of knowledge on the part of 
trainers. The tendency is to overdo. This is particularly true of the school 
boy who imagines that unless he runs himself clean out every day of practise, 
he is not getting in the proper condition for competition. This is where he 
makes a mistake, and where, in my mind, he is going to feel the effects in 
later years. 
Proper training means work suited to the strength and development 
of the individual, and if a man is so trained, is allowed to compete only 
when fit, and is fit to run when he begins training, such injuries would 
not occur. 
Benefits—In answer to the question, “ Has it benefited you in any 
way?” ninety per cent. answer “ Yes,” five per cent. do not know 
whether it has or not, and five per cent. reply, “It has not.” The 
benefits said to have resulted are in general, strengthened heart and 
lungs, developed a rugged constitution, cured several weak hearts, 
“gave perfect health and endurance very beneficial in recent years,” 
“cured frequent headaches,” “ effected a complete emancipation from 
