The First Annual Tacoma High School Cross-Country Run
High school athletes brave snowy conditions to set new records in the city's first cross-country race.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
With a light skiff of snow on the ground, the Tacoma High School runners got out Saturday and sprinted over the ground in their first annual cross-country race, breaking all records for time. The boys had to run to keep warm, and of the 15 starters a fine bunch came in at the finish when Pritchard Miller and Riordan had a neck-and-neck struggle to within a few yards of the tape. Then Miller got away from his competitor and won, leaving second honors for Riordan, third for Clayton Terry, fourth for William Thompson and fifth for Benny Terrell. The next race will be February 6.
“The boys had to run to keep warm, and of the 15 starters a fine bunch came in at the finish.”
Tacoma’s running community remains robust today, though modern athletes likely have the luxury of specialized gear compared to the students who had to race in the snow just to keep from freezing. The competitive spirit of this 1909 high school event mirrors the enduring local tradition of long-distance racing in the Pacific Northwest.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.