Runner (mechanics)

“ When the trial is changed to a sprint race, where great speed is required and a severe temporary strain comes on heart and lungs, the pugilist would answer the purpose better, as condition is the great point in such a match, style being secondary.
For longer running contests up to twenty miles, where economy of strength is everything, style becomes a valuable adjunct; and here the professional runner is indicated as the proper trainer.
For twenty-four-hour walks and runs the professional pedestrian is also the man to employ, as such efforts are not above the capacity of men in fair condition. ”

“ The shafts rest on the ground at a steep incline as you get in—it must require much practice to enable one to mount with ease or dignity—the runner lifts them up, gets into them, gives the body a good tilt backwards, and goes off at a smart trot. They are drawn by one, two, or three men, according to the speed desired by the occupants. When rain comes on, the man puts up the hood, and ties you and it closely up in a covering of oiled paper, in which you are invisible. ”

“ This kind of running makes no great demands on your skill, and still less on your nerve. Its main object is the avoidance of falls, and at first this should certainly be your sole aim. But if you wish to become a really good runner you should not allow it to remain so for long.
The first-rate runner has absolute command of the various swings, &c., and can stop suddenly or dodge among obstacles at a pretty high speed with perfect steadiness (at very high speeds it is impossible to turn or stop suddenly; the curve of the swing is then bound to be more or less long and gradual) . ”

“ The longest sprint race, and the most severe of all, is the furlong dash—two hundred and twenty yards. This kind of racing is a tremendous strain on the lungs and heart, as the same pace which carries the runner over the hundred yard track has to be kept up and even increased. It requires a broad deep chest in the runner, with little flesh, and that hard and firm. To train for such a race requires at least a year's practice, and amateurs would do well to leave it alone altogether. ”

“ 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. ”

“ If we make comparisons with different varieties of man-made records, we find that the swiftest human runner covers his mile at the rate of about twenty-one feet per second; the skater brings this up to about thirty-four feet; and the bicyclist attains the acme of muscle-motor speed with his eighty feet per second. In the case of the bicyclist, the wind-shield pace-maker on the auto-cycle plays an important part. But even so the cyclist would be left behind one hundred and thirteen feet each second by the flying automobile.
All these types of record maker, therefore, are quite outclassed. ”

“ You engage a good runner, whom you order to make all speed: he springs away splendidly, and keeps up the pace until he happens to overtake some weak or lazy puller, who seems to be moving as slowly as the gait permits. ”

“ Attaching Runners to a Bicycle for Winter Use
Bicycle Fitted with Runners for Snow
Instead of storing away your bicycle for the winter, attach runners and use it on the ice. The runners can be made from 1/4-in. by 1-in. iron and fastened to the bicycle frame as shown in the sketch. The tire is removed from the rim of the rear wheel and large screws turned into the rim, leaving the greater part of the screw extending. Cut off the heads of the screws and file them to a point. The rear runners should be set so the rim of the wheel will be about 1/2 in. above the runner level. ”

“ Taking the hurdles is the main thing. There’s really only two running steps between, if you throw out the short step. And what a fast runner makes in those two steps, he’ll more than lose on the hurdles, if he doesn’t do ’em right. Three feet lost on a hurdle is thirty feet on the race, a good second and a fifth. No one wins a race by that much. The work that’s cut out for you is to get your jump so near perfect that you don’t lose anything in going over. Then just steady, hard running will put you ahead of the fellow who hasn’t your staying power. ”

“ The wide spoor is a cause of instability, the extreme bending of the knee is a source of weakness, and there is a very fair chance of the runner (if he falls forward) knocking out his front teeth against his stick. Hold that article clear of the ground in a safe position as shown (No. 1, p. 63) , and practise sometimes without it. Above all things, do not lean backwards on to the pole, for the consequence of so doing is that the upper part of the body is retarded in its speed, and, being thus left further and further behind, a spill on lumpy ground becomes inevitable. ”

“ This will make the muscles begin to harden. Then run steadily for a quarter of a mile at a time, not troubling much about the speed. Cultivate the use of the toes and stride straight forward. Towards the end of the run the speed may be increased, for the muscles will then be in working order. Even now, Pg 24 however, the young sprinter should not tire himself. A week should be employed in this way before the more severe training is undertaken. ”

“ The dimensions of the chest may appear small at first sight, but it must be remembered that the runner has no muscles of the shoulder blades to increase his measurement. A well-made runner has not that top-heavy appearance that characterizes the gymnast who does much arm work. ”

“ The runners, the runner plank, and the backbone must be alined carefully, so that they are at right angles, and track properly; otherwise the craft will not keep a true course, and cannot be controlled properly by the rudder runner. The backbone and runner plank are held rigidly by four 1⁄4-in. wire-rope stays, shown in Fig. 2. They are fixed to eyes on the bands at the bow, near the ends of the runner plank, and to an eyebolt below the cockpit. ”

“ Imagine a track some six feet in width, formed of snow turned to ice by the process of constant watering, and so smooth and slippery that a burnished mirror would be rough and dull in comparison. Imagine this track inclined at a steep angle, walled in on both sides with low ice-banks, and trailing a long and sinuous course for a length of over a mile! Here we have the potentialities of speed when we remember that racing "bobs" are just low frameworks of wood whose steel runners glide over the polished track with as little friction as a flash of lightning traversing a thunder-cloud. ”

“ When the starter gives the word to "set," the runner should lean forward as far as he can without losing his balance, his head lifted so that he can get a full and clear view of the track ahead of him. When the pistol sounds he shoots ahead with all the force of both legs, but his first two strides are taken in a crouching position. Do not attempt to stand erect at the very start. Let the head and shoulders rise along a slanting line to their proper altitude, or there will be an infinitesimal but still noticeable loss of time. ”

“ Those who knew better saw that the good runners did not start at headlong pace. They held back in a bunch, and were saving their wind. In a run that covers five or ten miles it is the height of folly to make any effort at great speed at the start. By degrees experienced and knowing runners get into their stride, and in this fashion are able to finish strongly. ”

“ Over tolerably level ground a good runner can trot forty miles a day, at a rate of about four miles an hour. They are registered and taxed at 8s. a year for one carrying two persons, and 4s. for one which carries one only, and there is a regular tariff for time and distance.
The kuruma, or jin-ri-ki-sha, {2} consists of a light perambulator body, an adjustable hood of oiled paper, a velvet or cloth lining and cushion, a well for parcels under the seat, two high slim wheels, and a pair of shafts connected by a bar at the ends. ”

“ Of the style of the runners little need be said; it resembles the style of the stade runner in the swinging of the arm, and for obvious reasons of symmetry the vase painter always makes the right arm work with the right leg, the left arm, which holds the shield, being generally stationary. The type of runner represented on Panathenaic 291vases is, as we should expect, sturdier and heavier than is shown in other races. ”

“ This means that the highest rate of speed must be well over 70 miles an hour. This on a pair of steel runners, head foremost, with your face a few inches above the solid ice, with nothing to check you except a small-toothed rake on the toe of each boot! Yet so wonderfully skilful is the construction of the run, so cunningly is it built to safeguard the headlong traveller, that accidents are very few. ”

“ When we start our machines for a run it is considerable work to get up an initial velocity or momentum; however, after that there should be only the friction of the machine within itself and upon the road to be overcome, together with the friction against the air; that is to say, if inequalities in the road could be run over without a loss of momentum being caused thereby, there would not be nearly so much work in travelling upon the cycle as is now necessarily required. ”

“ In running, as the swiftness of the motion steadies the body in its course, without the aid of the oscillations of the arms, they are naturally drawn up towards the sides, and, bent at the elbows, form a right angle. Their motion is almost suspended in very swift running. In moderate running, a gentle oscillation is observed, increasing in proportion as the body approaches to the walking pace. The knees are now more bent,—the same part of the foot does not touch the ground, the body being carried forward more by the toes. ”

“ It is this action which is mainly responsible for holding the machine upright. The same is true of a bicycle, although the gyroscopic effect is not quite so marked, because of the lower velocity of the wheels. However, we all know that any tendency for the machine to fall to one side or the other may be corrected by a slight turn of the front wheel in that direction which at once has the effect of bringing the bicycle back to vertical position. ”

“ One peculiarity of the bicycle, and to a certain extent of the center-cycle, is that the plane of the machine always lies in the direction of the resultant force, that the machine leans over to an amount depending on the velocity and the sharpness of the curve described. For this reason all lateral strain on the parts is abolished, and if we except the slipping away of the wheel from under the rider, which can hardly occur on a country road, an upset from taking a curve too quickly is impossible. ”

“ More than that I maintain that the lower the axle is set, the less the team's strength goes into attaining speed. The lower the axle is set, the more sharply the pole slopes upward from the axle to the yoke-ring; the less of the team's energy goes into pulling the chariot along, the more of it is wasted, so to speak, on lifting the chariot into the air at every leap forward. The higher the axle is set, the nearer the pole is to being level, the less power is wasted on that upward pull and the more is utilized on the forward pull and goes to produce speed. ”

“ In a two-track machine, on the other hand, we are compelled to supply springs with lateral motion as a necessary appliance for the comfort of the rider, which lateral motion results in loss of momentum and kinetic energy, whereas in the bicycle our comfort and energy are all confined to one plane ”

“ It is evident that all this theory applied to one obstruction is simply repeated in a number of them, and a number of them make up a rough road, bearing in mind that a rut is but one form of an obstacle.
Some makers of late seem to realize the importance of springs which will allow of a horizontal as well as a vertical motion, and have in them not only provided against the loss of momentum in the man, but also in the entire machine exclusive of the front wheel. ”

“ Running at the present day is divided into sprinting (distances up to one-quarter of a mile) , middle-distance running (from one-quarter of a mile to 1000 yds.) and long-distance running (over 1000 yds.) .
Sprinting consists of running over short distances with a full and continuous burst of speed, the chief distances being 100 yds., 220 yds. and quarter-mile. Distances up to and including 220 yds. are in America called dashes. The course for sprinting races, when run in the open air, is marked off in lanes for the individual runners by means of cords stretched upon short iron rods. ”

“ To apply this particularly to cycles, if you gear up for speed, you must push harder; if we gear down, we need not push so hard, but must kick faster or go more slowly, provided in each case the length of crank is the same. We cannot go fast and push easy unless we increase the strength of the man. To go over the same distance of given road, the same amount of work is required, no matter how the machine is arranged through which it is done. ”