On a prominent shelf in my office is a pristine first edition, first printing copy of No Bugles No Drums. Signed on the title page by Peter Snell, Garth Gilmour, and Authur Lydiard, it is one of the foundations of my extensive collection books regarding the world of athletics. It has been a few years since I read that memoir but this morning, I thumbed through its pages.
Whilst I do not wish to engage in the debate between Armstronglivs and uviichy, I will share this quote a from that tome. “In the 1500, I finished fifth, hit now by the effects on my legs of the hard San Diego track.” (Snell and Gilmour, 219). These few words were written about the June 1965 race in Helsinki during his final tour and competitive season. In the paragraph he also described the fatiguing effects of travel and being a “heavily muscled athlete” and his desire to scratch the next race in Dublin. A few pages over he described having no kick or enthusiasm with a time of about 3:44 in finishing third behind Jim Grelle in a 1500m race in Berlin which occurred later that month.
The last chapter of No Bugles No Drums is a reflection on the extent that athletics influenced Snell’s life. He states, “For seven years, nothing was attempted before its possible effects on my athletic training had been considered. Generally, it would be right to say that if it did threaten to interfere with training, it probably wasn’t done.” (Snell and Gilmour, 231).
Snell, Peter, and Garth Gilmour. No Bugles No Drums. Minerva, 1965.