It may explain why Billy B and Kenny S's records still stand. I don't think many (any?) of the fell runners since have been brought up in and amongst the fells like they and Joss were. Haven't Rob Jebb's performances in the classics improved since he moved there?
Maybe it's the radon gas, or Sellafield, or something in the water.
Hitting the nail on the head...I recently ran a 32km race in El Chalten, Patagonia with one of the best long distance mountain runners in Argentina.... Needless to say, he dragged me round but kept shouting at me to keep believing we could win this thing, and after 2h35m we crossed the finishing line in 2nd place.... only 10 seconds behind first. I never believed that I could achieve this and in a way it always held me back in races, even if only sub-conciously. Of course Diet and Training are the most important thing, but desire to win is like the C0-2 valve in the car, just giving you that little bit more.Originally Posted by Trog
Desire to win a race is one thing, but you won't have a chance unless you're good enough and that comes from the desire to succeed in the sport. Some have innate natural ability (Simon Bailey and Natalie White have been prolific winners from a very early age) If you don't have that ability, it takes desire, application, patience, determination,belief, sacrifice,an ability to embrace and enjoy hard work, an ability to cope with the inevitable setbacks and much more, but provided you start a progressive training programme early enough, there's no reason why someone with a modicum of basic physical attributes/ ability can't be with the "big boys" within 5 years.
Let's face it, most of us aren't going to win anything no matter how hard we train. If we don't have the basic raw material and train too hard we'll invariably get injured and break down. The trick for the rest of us is simply to hang in there and plug away. To become survivors.
There's an interview with Grasmere Guides Champion Bill Teesdale in Richard Askwith's book 'Feet in the Clouds'. Teesdale, who "looks like a Hobbit" and "did a lot of walking in them days" explains how he started his running career on the tracks in Scotland where they had various events including mile handicaps, By the time he moved onto the fells he was having to give his track rivals up to a quarter mile start. Natural talent and an obsessive determination to win, it was.
But,in the long run, we can all win something if we play our cards right. An averagely poor runner, even I managed to 'peak' for my 60th year, and by doing so grabbed no less than 10 trophies in 12-18 months. I aim to do it all again when I'm 70. At 70 you can get something just for turning up. The top runners will mostly have hung up their fell shoes before then. Running into old age, with only the likes of you or me to beat, doesn't seem to interest them.
Now half way through the book. It is well argued and is supported by science and examples. If you are motivated and put in the required hours of work of the right quality you can succeed. In fact you will succeed. The belief in innate talent is wrong and limiting. Time after time it has been shown that it is hard work that leads to success. As someone said on this forum - those who believe they can and those who believe they can't are both right.
I was not going to contribute to this post any further because i did not want to fall out with anyone .
But i am sorry deadlegs,.I cannot let the statement you have just made go unchallenged.
I am aware of the book you are reading and i have read many more to counteract the claims made in the book.
All i will say is this,to believe what you have posted,anyone can ,by will power, a positive belief system, training hard desire it more than anything in the world , rock up at the Olympics and beat Usain Bolt in the 2012 100 mtrs final.
This is just not true.
Yes ,you will be substantially better than when you first started but for the general population they will be 30,40 whatever mtrs behind him.
To think that success lays in shear strength of will makes all of us failures when we do not win.
Your theory gives everyone of us the ability to win, but if we do not we only have ourselves to blame,
you have left us with a sense of failure.
"I did not want to succeed enough " I am not committed enough".
What i am saying is we all have great potential more than we realize but we are also limited to the genetic predisposition we are born with.
I remember some years ago reading of a good Samaritan who found a once-famous Kenyan runner living on the streets in the Bowery in New York along with the usual plethora of tramps and alcoholics. If I recall the story correctly, the once-famous Kenyan runner was not only totally drunk and completely unfit but was also 2 or 3 stones overweight. It was clear that he hadn't run for many years.
His saviour recognized him and took him back to Africa. Within a short time the man was running 30 minute 10kms. That's something I could never do if I trained night and day for the next 100 years. Just as I can't drive a car like Michael Schumacher, or paint like Vincent van Gogh, or write poetry like Sorley MacLean, so I can never hope to run like Kilian Journet. It's a fact. I have to live with it. You, dear readers, mostly do too.
wow I seem to have started quite a debatesome interesting thoughts........
I think it is obvious that most of us certainly can do better, with more commitment and dedication. Personally I know I am capable of lots better than I achieve, but I will never ever achieve this as I find it impossible to consistently train hard, due to having lots of other things that interfere with runningBut it must be true that the top top lads are born with greater physical attributes that enable them to reach greater performance....
I found it difficult to accept at first but there is evidence to support what I am saying. You are saying what you feel to be true and that is not the same thing. Champions are champions because of thousands and thousands of hours of effort. Reverand , you would not just have to train hard consistantly but do so for years. Woodlander, you are not suggesting that Schumacher has a natural talent for driving are you? A.P.E , no a member of the public couldn't rock up to the 2012 Olympics because it takes about 10 years of consistent effort to get to the required standard.
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