Still Running (weakly). Issue 61

PAST – inspiration – With the Olympics now happening, what of past Games? I can just about remember the 1968 Olympics. Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s Black Power Salute caused a huge sensation – as it should have. I watched the last lap of the 5000 metres in awe as Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia held off Kip Keino of Kenya (Keino, who won the 1500, almost gets his chest in front with 50 to go.) “How can they run so fast, after running so far?” I asked my Mum!

Then there’s the Israeli massacre in Munich 1972, Coe and Ovett in 1980, Steve Redgrave getting his fifth gold in 2000, Kelly Holmes in 2004, as well as numerous moments of tension and disappointment in between.

But perhaps the best memory – for obvious reasons – was actually being in the Olympic Stadium in 2012 to see Mo Farah win the 5000 in an incredibly tense race – it looked like Gebremeskel would get him with 50 to go. And then enjoying watching the Jamaican 4x100 relay team setting a world record to beat the Americans. Usain Bolt was on the last leg – at his finest, most irresistible, unstoppable best.

PRESENT – perspiration – The athletics hasn’t started as I write this, but there is still drama aplenty. Just to pick three British moments, Kimberley Woods won canoe slalom bronze (salvation, after she was last in Tokyo 2020), Adam Peaty won silver in an incredibly close 100 metres breaststroke (having won in Rio and Tokyo), and Tom Pidcock won gold in the mountain biking (to successfully defend his title.)

Pidcock’s route to the top of the podium wasn’t without its challenges, as he had to retire from the Tour de France with covid, and then suffered a puncture in the Olympic race, relegating him to sixth on the course, before coming through to defeat the home favourite – and getting booed by the French.

His emotional immediate post-race interview is also worth watching: “It wasn’t easy……. Yeah….. Keeping my glasses on for a reason. The Olympics is so special……You never give up…… I wanted to show what sport is – not giving up.”

FUTURE – suggestion – A piece I saw this week summed up an idea for me. It said that bad training sessions are in some ways more important than good ones. Anyone can train hard when you feel good. It’s what you do when you “are not feeling it today” that separates the sheep from the goats.

Perhaps it is true that, on bad days, you don’t do as much as you would do if you felt good, but you do something. Because it is not always about what happens in the workout – though this is obviously crucial over time. It is about developing yourself to have the sort of mindset that does not quit. It’s about becoming the type of person who does not miss sessions.