Training For The Ultimate Endurance
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Youngsters of the type required for this form of racing must be healthy and from early as possible receive training that will, as well as enlarging their hearts and enhancing the development of muscles, etc., will help to imprint in their minds the areas into which they will have to fly. In other words they must learn the experience of their physical neighbourhoods . The latter will grow from their first take off through the daily flights around the loft area and by increasing training tosses along the line of flight. After about twenty miles they canbe taken from the line of flight and tossed from the other three areas of the compass. Thus ensuring if effected by the weather and put off course they can arrive safely through the nurtured imprint of their home territory.

Twenty miles in the other three directions are sufficient for our purposes but it is not required to toss them the same number of times that they were along the line of flight. The latter being approximately six tosses if the youngsters have been flying well and roaming around their own territory. In this matter some recommend that for the first half a dozen tosses along the line of flight 2 or 3 experienced non youngsters should accompany them to show what is expected of them. They then should be tossed by stages upto 75 miles as the latter amount of training is sufficient.

An important aspect of young bird training is regularity- once you start keep them at it. Some like to ensure that the youngsters receive race experience although there have been outstanding birds who were never raced as youngsters. If one races young birds one our two races is sufficient then they should be left to develop. As yearlings the tosses should be single up along the line of flight until about 75 miles.

The experience will stick to them when they ultimately have to fly with only the flap of their wings as a companion. As for yearling racing the latter should be no more than 250 miles for in reality they are no more than overgrown babies. In fact look at the strays and one will find that the yearling numbers are in the majority. Yes there are always exceptions to the rule but to nurture long distance and marathon pigeons one has to be careful in their handling otherwise a youngster or a yearling of tremendous potential could spend its life in the company of feral pigeons on some street because of down right bad
management.

As for two year olds the latter will not put up with high powered training. More so if it is dished out early in the year. Better to give this category a few 50 mile tosses in late May and June and then lift them into the race which they have been selected for.Bring them in after 200 miles but then stop them at 350. As for the three year old plus a few tosses of 50/70 miles prior too and then into the chosen event. For pedigreed racing pigeons of three plus years experience of the latter system should be capable of covering the ultra distances.

by: Liam O Comain