I work as a consultant and auditor for
management systems such as Quality, Environment and OH&S. I
live in Manly West and have lived in Brisbane since
1982 (24 years, to save you working it out) and joined the
Pat Carroll running group in December 2005.
My favourite restaurant is The sea
food smorgasbord next to the rock pool in Townsville. I am not
really into restaurants for the food, but the location of this
place is magic. Sitting on the balcony taking in the view of
Magnetic Island and soaking up the cool (well sort of cool)
breezes of the water.
My earliest childhood memory is when I
was about three years old. My father was in the British Army and
we moved every 2 years or so. When I was three we moved to Kent
in England and I remember the hill outside the railway station
that we had to lug all our gear up. I think this experience has
lead me to dislike hill repetitions more than I should.
As an adult my most striking memories
include being in two planes struck by lightening. This is an
experience never to forget and very scary at the time.
My favourite movie is the Lord of the
Rings trilogy, but this will change after I have seen it a few
times and new movies come along. I have recently “found” the A1
(Adventure 1) channel on Foxtel. This channel shows many really
inspiring adventures that people of the world get up to.
Brisbane City is a great place to live
because it is warm, friendly will lots to do for those that want
to participate. Also it has been more like a big country town
than a state capital city. That is changing and I may need to
head north.
My regular holiday destination is
North Queensland on the coast or on an Island. For my work I
need to visit Hamilton Island once a year and that is a really
hard job to take.
If money was no option I would retire
from work and concentrate on my major goal of a sub 3hr
marathon. I would also like a part time position as a “grumpy
old man” (see below)
It frustrates me when people,
particularly my three sons, do not listen to me when I explain
the results of my experiences in life. I would be good as a
“Grumpy old Man”.
I have been involved in running for
about 2 ˝ years and my most memorable running experience is
knocking more than fifty minutes off my marathon time between
the first Gold Coast Marathon (2004) and the second (2005) to
finish in 3hrs:27mins.
I enjoy distance running because I can
do it. I was a poor athlete and sportsperson at school and in my
youth but this I can do. I have found that the stresses on
running a small business and life in general can fade away
whilst on the long run.
My favourite run is the foreshores at
Wynnum, Manly and Lota, there is a 5Km stretch with ˝ Km
markers. Watching the sun rise over the water is great. Because
my business takes me to quite a few places in Queensland I get
to experience some great running places, the foreshores in
Cairns and Townsville are also great and next week I will be
pounding the bitumen near a coal mine in central Qld.
Motivation is something I need help
with firstly because I wonder whether sub 3hrs is achievable for
me but also in terms of tempering the enthusiasm to do too much.
I believe that Pat is a woossa at times and I feel the need to
run much further than he wants me to as described on his plan. I
have found the support of the PCRG to be great in that we are
all shouting for one another.
Injuries are foreign for me (running
injuries anyway). The closest I have had to a running injury
that stopped me running was when I ran/fell over (or into) a
pile of gravel that some kind person had left on the footpath
outside their house. It was pitch dark (4:00am) in the winter
and I sustained gravel rash, cuts and bruises that kept me out
for a week. Other medical conditions (skin cancer) keep me away
from running more and they are very frustrating.
Moving to Brisbane from Glasgow, Scotland,
was a turning point in my life because not only was it a
touch warmer, particularly moving in January, but also the
people in Brisbane are more positive and friendly than anywhere
else I had been.
The Pat Carroll running group are a
bunch of strange people (would a normal person get up early in
the morning and travel to South Bank so that Pat can shout at
them and inflict pain on them?) that are not only interested in
there own lives and running goals but also keen to support
others in the group to achieve their goals (is that not strange
as well?).
I prefer running in the PCRG because I
push myself harder trying to catch better runners and the
friendly nature of the people who participate. I can’t forget
that Pat is also a great coach and trainer.
Running for the amount of time that I
would like is difficult to fit in with running a small
business and family commitments.
The best advice Pat gave me was,
and I quote, “prove me wrong”. Another piece of advice that
inspires me is from Sir Winston Churchill whose total speech to
one group consisted of the words “never give up”.
The stories of hardship, endurance and
perseverance shown on A1 inspire me. Also, when I was in
the recovery area of my first Gold Coast Marathon (2004) after
my time of 4hs 22min, the announcer encouraged a finisher who
came across the line in about 4hrs 42mins. He was 87 years old.
That is inspiring. I will not regret. I always look
forward to what can be, not what was. I dislike intensely
overuse of the word “can’t”.
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