19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

?See page 62.—ED.

COGHLAN'S TIME
Sir:
Regarding Kenny Moore's report on Eamonn Coghlan's world-record indoor-mile run (This Was a Time to Remember, Feb. 26), there was, for track buffs, an important omission. What was Coghlan's time at the 1,500-meter mark vis-�-vis the world record for that distance?
MARSHALL O. CROWLEY
Carlsbad, Calif.

?It was 3:37.7—.3 second slower than John Walker's world best indoors.—ED.

BEAGLES
Sir:
Being a recent transplant from the Northeast and an avid rabbit hunter, I read Ron Rau's article with delight and incredulity. I would love to see Rau chasing rabbits on foot in Vermont snow (Every Dog Has His Bay, March 5). Moreover, I admire the perseverance of Rau and his friends in beating the brush in search of stew meat.

But I'm dismayed that Rau harbors such disdain for the beagle, a great hunting dog. When properly trained, it will not chase deer or anything else but rabbits. A real beagle is a sight and sound to behold. One of my uncle's beagles could only be used on jackrabbits; she was so quick she would often run down cottontails.

However, Rau and I share two basic pleasures regarding rabbit hunting: being outdoors and listening to the dog sing, whether the "dog" be man or beast.
THOMAS J. LAYDEN
El Segundo, Calif.

Sir:
Two-legged beagles? Simpleminded beagles? I can't speak for basset hounds, but as a 14-year-old beagle puppy who has chased her meager share of rabbits, I was amused by Ron Rau's presumption of expertise on the subject of beagles. Do beagles care if rabbits circle? Of course not. Why should we? When people let us out for a run, we glory in the sheer joy of running. Why be bothered trying to run down a silly rabbit so that an even sillier person can shoot it? The next time Rau hangs the label simpleton on a beagle, perhaps he should reflect on how he appears when trying to imitate one. I have yet to see a beagle try to imitate a person.
BOBTAIL FRITZ
Hershey, Pa.

Sir:
Ron Rau's article did not encourage me to rise early on Saturday and pursue a rabbit through the western Pennsylvania woods. But his story was bright, witty and certainly sagacious. Possibly we have been introduced to a substitute for cross-country skiing.
HERB SEESE
Indiana, Pa.

FOLLOWING THE SKATERS
Sir:
In the pictures accompanying the article on speed skaters Eric and Beth Heiden (Icing a Family Fortune, Feb. 26), the competitors were shown wearing a sort of armband around their upper right arms. Would you please settle an argument by informing me as to its function?
JED DOVE
Middlebury, Vt.

?Speed skaters, who compete in pairs and exchange lanes after each lap of a race, sometimes finish in the lane opposite to the one in which they started. Because they often wear similar uniforms, the armband, which bears the skater's number and is either red or white, serves to identify the skater and his or her starting lane (say, red for the inner skater and white for the outer one).—ED.