By EDDIE GRIFFITH )

Gunder Hagg the Swedish shadow who {
sped from farm boy to fireman to miracle |
man of motion in three swift laps, declares he
will run the indoor mile at the Knights of Co-
lumbus games in Cleveland tomorrow night

in 4.12 or less.

And Navy Lt. Glenn Cunningham, holder of
the world’s indoor mile record and now stationed
at San Diego’s 11th Naval District, counters with:

“T doubt it!” %

Cunningham, who in 1938 on the boards of the #
Dartmouth college track at Hanover, New Hamp-. ¢
shire, ran the 11 laps in 4:04.4 for a world’s record
which has yet to be challenged, isn’t casting doubt
on Gunder’s racing ability.

“Tt’s just that I don’t think Hagg is in condi-
tion for such an effort at this time,” the Kansas tor-
nado explained.

“In his three starts since arriving here, Hagg
has appeared to be in very bad shape. If he was
in fair condition when leaving Stockholm, I can’t
understand how he could have tailed off so badly
even counting the time it took for the ree ined A
few simple exercises on shipboard would have
kept him toned up.”

Cunningham, it should be explained, is a stickler
for conditioning. Although desk-bound much of
the time by his duties as assistant physical and wel- }
fare officer of the district, Glenn daily takes work-
outs which tend to keep him close to the peak of
condition.

Switching- the.subject, we asked the “Miracle
Man of the Mile” the difference between running
indoor and outdoor miles—another factor which
ere has proved difficult for Hage to under-
stan
LT. GLENN CUNNINGHAM “Indoor miles are run approximately two

i doubts Hagg can do it. seconds slower than the same distance outdoors,”
Seiciin he said. “This is due to the more
am zm ah ae numerous turns and shorter

straightaways inside. There are
11 laps to the mile, which means
that 22 turns must be made, This
tends to slow speeds and a run-
ner must be able to pace himself
with great accuracy. The long
stretch runs and wide sweeping
turns of outdoor tracks make for
better times.”

Glenn digressed to deny that

he was paced when setting the
on| world’s mark at Hanover.
his “I was never paced in a race,”
he emphasized. “I always fig-
od|ured I knew more about my
wind, timing and endurance than
the pacer. At Hanover, knew
within one-tenth of a_ second
where I was all the time.”
\\ This is indeed remarkable and| Sa
N |helps explain the successes Cun-| Sa
N jningham scored as a distance} yy,
\ | runner. H
The Hanover track had only 40-| **€
: yard straightaways and 40-yard| wh

 

 

 

 

turns. wh
Asked about the possibility of |j,
P)| a flat four-minute mile, Glenn t
promptly replied: eas
ng} “It is more than a possibility. rec
ie- |T would say it is a certainty. Times| the
ad . : :
for the distance are steadily being] on¢
‘as| whittled down. And I don’t think
ed) it will be long before such a mark} ym,
is made.” to
Cunningham ad mitted that on
Hagg might grab the honors for} ay
such a record, but still doubted} w
the Shadow’s ’ ability to run in| \
4.12 or less: tomorrow night. lea
“That time requires a man tolin
be at peak condition. I think] An
Gunder has yet to reach thattype| 1
of physical well-being on this/tra
trip.” tri

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