"At the time, it was widely believed that when a runner slowed down, a few vigorous taps on the head with a wooden mallet would revive his spirits and encourage

"At the time, it was widely believed that when a runner slowed down, a few vigorous taps on the head with a wooden mallet would revive his spirits and encourage him to renew his efforts. J. Harmon Bixley and John Jacob Ott disagreed on whether wooden or rubber mallets were more effective, and ended up killing each other with simultaneous blows with their respective mallets in 1903."