Still Running (weakly). Issue 35

PAST – inspiration – “****,” shouted Dan O’Brien, enunciating the “curse that was heard across America,” as he failed in his third attempt at his opening height in the pole vault in the decathlon at the 1992 US Olympic Trails. Simply put, the best decathlete in the world by far, the reigning World Champion and soon-to-be world record holder, would not be going to the Barcelona Olympics.

History is littered with such setbacks. Hasely Crawford pulled up in the final of the 100 metres at the 1972 Munich Olympics……but won the 1976 version. My oldest training partner and friend, Nolan Simmons (from Trinidad and Tobago, like Crawford), was late into the stadium that day and just missed seeing his countryman win their islands’ first ever Olympic gold medal.

Closer to home and citing an athlete you may actually have heard of, Kelly Holmes was generally thought to have underperformed in her earlier carer, garnering a solitary bronze from the 2000 Olympics. She has been open about suffering mental health issues, largely because of injury, admitting that at one point, she was cutting herself daily. She managed a full injury-free season leading into 2004 and won a well-deserved 800 and 1500 double in that Athens Olympics.

Oh, and O’Brien qualified for the Olympics in 1996 and duly won gold.

PRESENT – perspiration – This ethos of not giving up was exemplified in extreme form recently by Colin Thorne, a New Zealander who took up parkrunning at 93 and last week registered his first 5km effort as a 100-year-old. He may be the first person of that age to complete a parkrun. His achievement was honoured all across New Zealand by all parkrunners wearing black – the parkrun 100 t-shirt colour and a hue not unloved by Kiwis!

FUTURE – suggestion – Two dodgy hips, a knee replacement and the passing of ten decades hasn’t stopped Colin. What’s stopping you? I remember back in the early days of the London Marathon, there was an advert for a make of running shoe that I have now forgotten that featured a young man without arms or legs, sitting in a wheelchair with crutches attached to his upper limb stumps (I hope that is a respectful description), and using them to propel himself along the 26.2-mile long course.

The caption said something like, “What’s your excuse for not running?”

Steve Prefontaine (US, 4th 1972 Olympic 5000, killed in a car accident aged 24) said, “To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.”

What gift are you not going to sacrifice?