Olympic runners

The 2012 Olympic Games begin today, so I thought I'd make a commemorative post. Here's a photo of Olympic runners to start off: 

Turn to Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy, chapter 21 "County Fair," for a story about sports (horse racing) in Almanzo Wilder's time. 

"The grand-stand filled up till people were packed in all the tiers of seats. The light sulkies were lined up in a row, and the horses tossed their heads and pawed the ground, eager to start. Almanzo was so excited he could hardly sit still. He picked the horse he thought would win, a slim, bright chestnut thoroughbred. 

Somebody shouted. All at once the horses were flying down the track, the crowd was one roaring yell. Then suddenly everyone was still, in astonishment. 

An Indian was running down the track behind the sulkies. He was running as fast as the horses. 

Everybody began to shout. 'He can't do it!' 'Two dollars he'll keep up!' 'The bay! The bay! Come on, come on!' 'Three dollars on the Indian!' 'Watch that chestnut!' 'Look at the Indian!' 

... Down the track the horses came pounding. 'Come on! Come on! The bay! The bay!' 

They flashed past too quickly to be seen. Behind came the Indian, running easily. In front of the grand-stand he leaped high in the air, turned a handspring, and stood, saluting all the people with his right hand. 

The grandstand shook with the noise of shouting and stamping. Even Father was shouting, 'Hurrah! Hurrah!' 

The Indian had run that mile in two minutes and forty second, as fast as the winning horse. He was not even panting. He saluted all the cheering people again, and waked off the track. 

The bay horse had won." 

If that sounds a bit unbelievable to you, some historical background may help. Here's what Wikipedia has to say: 

Accurate times for the mile run (1.609344 km) were not recorded until after 1850, when the first precisely measured running tracks were built. Foot racing had become popular in England by the 17th century, when footmen would race and their masters would wager on the result. By the 19th century "pedestrianism", as it was called, had become extremely popular and the best times recorded in the period were by professionals. Even after professional foot racing died out, it was not until 1915 that the professional record of 4:12¾ minutes (set by Walter George in 1886) was surpassed by an amateur.

 Hope you enjoy following the Olympics - and reading Little House on the commercial breaks, of course! That's all for today. Thanks for reading!
Elizabeth