Sacrifice
+ Belief = Success
I have been inundated with remarks from runners about how
they have been inspired by Kerryn McCann’s (second) Gold Medal
performance at the Commonwealth Games. There was barely a dry
eye when Kerryn crossed the line and television commentators at
the time, Steve Moneghetti and Lee Troop, can well vouch for
that.
When Frank Shorter won the Olympic Marathon in Munich he
sparked off a World wide boom in running. All of a sudden
everybody wanted to run. People were inspired!
What a finish!
Kerryn has competed against stronger fields in the past and
has shone on many occasions. Her 11th place in the Marathon at
the Sydney Olympics, personal best of 67.48 for the Half
Marathon and 2.25.59 for the Marathon are impressive
credentials. Kerryn is without doubt now Australia’s no. 2
female Marathon runner of all time behind our great Lisa
Ondieki.
Inspiration
derived through Kerryn's win....
The genuine emotion Kerryn displayed when she finished will
remain with all of us forever. Inspiration derived through
Kerryn’s win will come from different interpretations of her
performance. Some people will be in a gasp by the fact that
someone can actually run continuously for 2hr 30min and then
sprint at the end. Some people will be impressed by the way
Kerryn reached within and came back each time the Kenyan runner
passed her. Some people will be inspired simply by the fact that
she won.
What
impressed me about Kerryn's performance...
What impressed me about Kerryn’s performance is the fact
that it came after a long arduous campaign which involved a
great deal of sacrifices. I know this not because I have been
talking to Kerryn of late but because I am also aware that she
religiously follows the plan of attack which her coach sets out
for her. The plan would have been based around the very same
training philosophy that most of Australia’s top Marathon
runners follow, past and present.
Consistency
The path is one which is based around focusing on the big
picture, getting the work done and avoiding any distractions
along the way. Keeping the training rolling along (consistency)
is of paramount importance.
As I watched Kerryn sprint down the home straight I thought
about all of the solo training runs she did in a wind swept
Coledale. I thought about the times she desperately wanted to
spend time with her two children but at the same time she knew
that she had a path to follow and km’s to run. I thought about
her disappointing Marathon in Japan earlier in the year, a below
par performance which possibly left Kerryn feeling as if the
downward spiral had begun.
Training
archive
In summary it would be fair to say that the emotion which I
experienced came from seeing a runner reaching deep into a
training archive made up of years upon years of personal
sacrifice and belief.
Just like Frank Shorter, Kerryn’s win will inspire a great
deal of people to take up running and I would like to encourage
all of those runners who become goal orientated to adopt
Kerryn’s training philosophy.
Sacrifice -
Consistency - Belief
A number of runners I am involved with will be running
their debut Marathon at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon this
year and some will take 2hrs longer than Kerryn to complete the
42.2km. Their campaign is based on the very same philosophy as
what Kerryn follows. Sacrifice will play a huge role,
consistency will be a major focus, and belief in what seems a
daunting task will become imperative.
I look forward to guiding the 2006 debut Marathoners I am
involved with. Witnessing the emotion they display when crossing
the finish line is an experience I eagerly await.
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