Paavo's Youth

In the Finnish magazine, Tyolaisur heilijan Joulu, appeared an article by Paavo Nurmi which said: ". . . How lonesome I felt in my youth when I was ordered to walk to church each Sunday with my father, while other boys had their chance to play outdoors to their hearts' content. . . .

"The first time my attention was called to an actual sport was when I was nine years old. With my playmates I was trying to see through the fence to a field where other boys were engaged in a race.

"From twelve years on, I was living strictly on greens and vegetables, although, after my father's death, I should have been thankful for any piece of meat, if that was offered.

"Coffee, tea, tobacco and liquors were entirely out of the question. . . . My young companions spent their leisure hours, particularly in the evenings, in amusement houses of one kind of another. I could not pay even a thought to passing my time in that way. All my spare time was used in walking through the woods or in running.

"My first real race was when I was 17. ... About two years before this I began to drink coffee and tea."