How Fast Are You Going Now?

My training progress:
I was feeling tired mid week, but that is normal third week back after resuming training. This week should be better!

last week's target 90k, 2 gym sessions actual 95 k, 2 gym sessions
this week’s target 100k, 3 gym sessions
weight 64kg and steady

quote of the week "Success is getting up one more time than you fall down".

song of the week Kite - U2, from "All That You Can't Leave Behind"

movies I would like to see #2: My Big Fat Elf Wedding (Middle Earth, 2006). See the Lord of the Rings through the eyes of Arwen as she ponders a different kind of ring: a wedding ring! Watch the hilarious pratfalls as her father Elrond realises his new son-in-law is not only 2000 years Arwen's junior and of a different species, but he also has a dodgy beard! As the big day finally arrives, as Arwen ponders: will her fiancé make it to the wedding on time, or will he be hacked to pieces by hundreds of Orcs and his head put atop a spike on the Dark Tower?

Team Moore Results from Saturday's “Bush Marathon” events
16k
John Kennedy 1.12.31
Jeni Greenland 1.23.09
Geoff Barker 1.23.22
Helen Larmour 1.27.11
Maria O'Reilly 1.27.11
Geoff Moore 1.27.11
Caroline Campbell 1.29.53
Charmaine Knobel 1.31.29
Ruth Baussmann 1.36.09
Graeme Small 1.39.52
Peter Hogan 1.51.26

25k
Richard Faulks 1.53.48
Bob Harlow 1.55.24
Cathy Newman 2.07.21
Pamela Faulks 2.42.11
Carolyne Kramar 3.04.03

42k
Roger Pilkington 4.11.53

And wasn't it funny that Helen is in both sets of results Sunday? (Given that the two races are run at the same time).

Felling Follish

Vets Handicap 6.8k Mt Taylor
6 Alan Green M55 32:28
14 Geoff Barker M60 36:21
18 John Stoney M40 34:44
23 Alan Duus M60 34:12
25 Rod Lynch M45 28:12
28 Caroline Campbell W60 38:11
30 John Kennedy M55 30:13
35 Roy Jones M60 40:21
41 Geoff Sims M55 36:39
42 Helen Larmour W45 33:31
44 Maria O'Reilly W50 32:17
47 Graeme Small M65 41:58
48 Amanda Walker W35 36:50
50 Ruth Baussmann W55 41:22
51 Colin Farlow M40 28:39
54 Peter McDonald M50 35:44
62 Christopher Lang M55 38:35
63 Annette Sugden W40 35:24
66 Geoff Moore M55 31:50
68 John Alcock M60 36:26
70 Margaret McSpadden W55 42:17
77 Charmaine Knobel W50 37:36
79 Barbara Tucker W55 40:12
80 Jeni Greenland W30 37:45
81 David Webster M50 32:16
87 Jill Brown W55 43:48
88 Kathy Sims W55 36:48
94 Cathy Newman W45 36:09
107 Peter Hogan M55 41:52

Vets Handicap 3.5k Mt Taylor
23 Neil Boden M55 15:46
31 Helen Larmour W45 15:53
34 Katie Forestier W40 15:18
42 Gary Bowen M45 14:53
51 Ewen Thompson M45 17:13
52 Maureen Rossiter W55 20:27

Nothing startling by Team Moore runners at today's running handicap. Except a very good turn out again. And Rod Lynch being elected Secretary of the ACTVAC at the Special Meeting. Yay!

And I do wish the eddittor of Vetruuner wood check his speeling. He must fell rather follish with yet annuther misstake.


Quote of the day: "He's soft and he's fat and he's wearing my clothes and he's getting too old and he was born on my birthday and I'm afraid if I stop running, he'll catch up with me." The Nike poster definition of masters athlete motivation.

Sense of Occasion

Tuggeranong Don was running with us with less than 2km to go when I asked him to finish fast, grab his camera, and photograph us coming in together. Off he went! Thanks TD. All I had to do then was to convince Helen & Maria not to sprint home. That's me in the middle holding them back. (Although they probably claim they are helping an old man run the last few metres)

More Notes from the Underground

Now that we have had the "Bush Marathon", how about ...

Today's Bush Marathon did NOT follow the contours! Sorry for those I inadvertently misled. Still, the 16k was not a bad training run. And the weather was wonderful.

About Me (as requested)

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1) IT at the ABS
2) IT at the ABS
3) IT at the ABS
4) IT at the ABS

Yes, it was my first and last job!

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1) Groundhog Day
2) All of the Lord of the Rings movies
3) The Shawshank Redemption
4) The Man Who Knew Too Little

And I do. I do. I do.

Four places I have lived:
1) Mile End (Adelaide)
2) Canberra City
3) Kingston (ACT)
4) Downer (ACT)

As well as Holt for the last 34 years.

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1) Spicks and Specks
2) The Chasers War on Everything
3) Planet Earth
4) AFL

Those four is about it, I cannot stand most TV

Four places I have been on vacation:
1) Singapore
2) Malaysia
3) New Zealand
4) Tasmania

and lots more

Four Websites I visit daily:
1) Bloglines
2) CoolRunning
3) PhilBaker
4) Google

and lots more, mainly bloggers

Four of my Favourite foods:
1) Bananas
2) Real Apricots fresh from the tree – I come from Adelaide, remember
3) Real Plums ditto
4) Quinces YUM!

But not a lot more

Four places I would rather be right now:
1) At my grandchildren’s in Brisbane
2) At my grandchildren’s in Shellharbour
3) At my grandchildren’s in Queanbeyan
4) In bed asleep

Bonus - favourite music
1) Coldplay
2) Switchfoot
3) Lifehouse
4) Third Day

one funeral too many

I have been to enough funerals in the last twelve months to last me a lifetime.

I don't want to go to any more for a while.

Probably very few readers knew Ben Casey, member of ACTVAC. He died this week of bone cancer.

Here's a school magazine photo from 1962, of the Adelaide Boys High School athletics team. Ben is back row, second from the left. I am front row, second from the left.


Hello
From the world below
I'm watching the sun burning
As the world is slowly turning
Well I know
That in letting go
I'm learning how to live
through a life I have to give
Yes hello
To the world below
I'm watching the world spinning
This night seems so unending
Well I follow
To a place I know
That's only the beginning
Start over after ending
- The Beginning, Lifehouse

Lydiard on Conditioning

A taste of Lydiard's training philosophy
Interviewer: Fundamental to your training methods is to develop stamina by doing marathon-type conditioning.

Lydiard: Stamina is general cardiac efficiency. And building stamina means putting your body into a near-tireless state so that oxygen debts are not created quickly and the ability to recover rapidly is at a high level. This way, you’ll be able to accept a heavier workout in practice, you’ll recover from races quicker and be able to resume normal training sooner—also enabling you to hold on to your “peak” racing fitness for a longer period of time. Also one of the biggest advantages is that, at the end of the race, you’re not even the least bit tired so that you can capitalise fully on your basic speed. [Peter] Snell was the slowest runner in terms of basic speed over 200 meters in the final of the 800 meters at Rome [1960] and Tokyo [1964] Olympic Games. But because he was marathon trained, he could capitalise that speed and sprint full out while his opponents, whose basic speeds were faster than Snell’s, were too tired to use it. Best way to improve your cardiac efficiency is by running long distances.

Now, I found out years ago, when I was running 100 miles a week in training, if I alternated the distances, say, instead of 15 miles every day, run 10 miles one day and 20 miles the next, I got better results. It was Dr. Gerhard Uhlenbruck of West Germany who confirmed for me that, during the long runs, particularly two hours or more, you very quickly develop underdeveloped capillaries and build new capillary beds. General cardiac efficiency is developed through improvement of assimilation, transportation, and utilisation of oxygen; and development of capillary beds increases utilisation of oxygen at the working muscles. So consequently the longer runs enhance these physiological reactions. So we made sure we incorporated long runs in our training schedule during the conditioning period, usually three long runs of at least one and one-half hours to two hours or even longer as a nucleus. This is why Peter Snell, competing twice around the track as an 800-meter runner, ran 100 miles a week with a 22-mile run on Sunday.

Peter Snell

Quote of the day: Actions speak louder than coaches. (Speedo ad)

Training at Dickson
..is on tonight. Of course. Fancy believing the forecast of rain all this week! No sign of it, of course. As usual, no explanation or apology from the BOM. I will be there at 4:30pm as usual for a long easy warm-up (7.5k) for the 5:30pm warm-up (2.4k).

Final "Maxine" cartoon. Thanks Speedy Goose!

chiropracticalistically clear

I missed the BBQ Stakes today - it looked like a good day for it, another balmy 14 degrees like Saturday was, albeit muddy under foot I would think - but I was sore from yesterday's Lake Ginninderra 7k, and just jogged 9k today at 6 minute pace.

Then after my bi-monthly* massage from michael today I also attended dr back-quack** whose manipulations I used to rely on when the miles were many, but since converting to kms, have only needed an irregular grease and oil change. You see I couldn't believe it had been twelve months since I saw him last; my lower back no longer screams for relief after only a few weeks, no symptoms have been evident. Sure enough, everything was in place, and I was cheerily told "see you in twelve months" as I departed, a few dollars down.

*bi-monthly = twice a month, or alternatively, once every two months. How often I go to my masseur depends on the extent and frequency of running induced damage. And whether my medical benefits have run out as we close in on a year's end.

**Dr back-quack. A nice enough fellow I also see walking around Mt Taylor in my once-a-year masochist run around the mountain with the Vets. As this annual event is unhappily rolling around this Sunday, have a look for him strolling by as we curse our way upwards or free fall downwards in what is laughingly called a "race". We also know it as a "handicap", a much more accurate term.

Here's something interesting - the Adelaide marathon times for every race for every runner can be found at http://adelaidemarathonstats.minuteboard.com/m/b/go.html. I appear three times.

Here's something interesting; another in the "Maxine" series.


p.s. it looks like netspeed email is in trouble today. I don't know if that means I am missing emails or not. Only one email had got through today and that was from Friar (thanks for the info I requested, Doug)

Notes from the Underground

"after all this time...."
No we didn't meet up with a Russian Existentialist during our training session last night, although come to think of it, we did find ourselves unable to achieve our primary goal of sprinting on dry grassy slopes, and instead found ourselves aimlessly running around and around a subterranean carpark.......

Sixteen was a good turn-out on a miserable wet day. (and we DO need the rain, everyone agrees.) Before when we trained in the underground carpark we did 400m loops surging on the uphill bit; this time we did just the surges jogging back down and repeating. Easier than on grass because ... Not as steep; better surface for fast running; and we could SEE! Also we enjoyed some starts tuition. (But how to educate runners to drive off at the start and NOT start their timers?)

=I was happy to complete 15k of running, all in the dry, out of the wind and rain=

"....I never thought we'd be here"
The August Vetrunner is now available for download. After originally missing the deadline, my "marathon" article appears there after all Unfortunately once again the heading has been destroyed with a typo. If I wanted typpos inn may heddings ai kould right migh oan.

Beijing
Neil Boden and family will be away in China during August supporting Lauren who is competing in the World Junior Athletics Championships.

I will keep an eye on results during that time & let readers know how Lauren goes.

Neil is running particularly well at present; in fact he is the biggest improver in our training group this winter. Let's hope he can get some quality training in up there and return in good shape!

How fast are you going now?

One Step Away From Where We Were

Another philosopher joke. Heisenberg is out for a drive when he's stopped by a traffic cop. The cop says "Do you know how fast you were going?" Heisenberg says "No, but I know where I am."

My training progress:
last week's target 70k actual 76k, 2 gym sessions
this week’s target 90k, 2 gym sessions, Vets handicap Sunday
weight 64kg and falling
movies I’d like to see #1 “April of the Penguins”. Unexpected sequel. The penguins are back, and guess what, they still can't fly.
song of the week Concrete Girl from Switchfoot - "Legend of Chin"

Laugh or cry
I won't mind
Sing it louder …

And we're standing on top of our hopes and fears
And we're fighting for words now concrete girl
And we're swimming around again, again
And we're swimming around now ...

I am getting back into it and my "dire rear" is mostly better but.. it looks like raining this week, that will be a challenge to get to the 90km.

Result 8k Cross Country Championships Women
11. Maria O'Reilly F 51 W50 35:01 4:23 per km
12. Helen Larmour F 46 W45 35:07 4:23
13. Katie Forestier F 40 W40 35:08 4:24
14. Annette Sugden F 43 W40 35:08 4:24
17. Thea Zimpel F 23 36:47 4:36
20. Kathy Sims F 55 W55 39:26 4:56
22. Charmaine Knobel F 54 W50 40:21 5:03
24. Caroline Campbell F 63 W60 41:24 5:10

8k Cross Country Championships Men 60 and over
4. Kevin Chamberlain 60 M60 35:38 4:27
6. Trevor Cobbold 58 M60 36:38 4:35
8. John Alcock 60 M60 39:17 4:55
9. Geoff Barker 61 M60 39:34 4:57

Lots of cross country highlights - spectacular close finishes by the women; Kevin first run as an M60 (three days after his birthday); Trevor officially an M60 in the results even though listed as 58; my easy defeat of "he who must be beaten"; Maria's W50 gold medal.

Now for the Bush Marathon and the Mount Taylor handicap runs next weekend.

You the reader range in years from 12 (I believe) to 76 (I believe). I read in turn what the 12 year old and the 76 year old write in their respective blogs and find them both unputdownable. And I read the blogs of over 100 other writers. It is amazing how much in common, people of diverse ages cultures and life experiences have, when they share the desire to excel in our competitive sport!

... Sing it louder

Concrete girl …

----dedicated to you-know-who-you-are.

How fast are you going now?

Although there comes a time of life when even aerobics is a bit extreme.

More Philosophical Jokes

A man does a good deed and as a reward his guardian angel appears and offers him the answer to any question he wishes to ask. But she says to take his time and she will return in two days. Well the man immediately realized he could become very rich: Which stock will go up the most over the next five years? Which horse will win the Kentucky Derby? Who will win the next Superbowl? etc. But then he thought, why waste this chance of a lifetime on money? After all, money is only a means to happiness. With the right question he can determine the secret of happiness itself! But the more he thought about it, the more he worried about tricks the angel might play: for example, suppose he asked, "What will make me the happiest man in the universe?" And she answered, "Go live on planet Rigel III" - perhaps true, but perfectly useless.

So our careful questioner decided to take this problem to the nearest philosophy department for assistance. He put the problem to the chair. The chair loved the challenge and as it happens, they were having a departmental meeting that evening anyway, so he told the man to return the next day. When the man returned, the chair beamed and informed him that the department put its best minds together and came up with the best possible question to ask the angel - and naturally he told the man the question to ask.

The next day the angel appeared and asked, "Well, do you have a question for me?" "Yes," the man replied with a great deal of confidence in his voice. "What are the members of the following ordered pair: the first member of the pair is the best possible question I could ask you, and the second member of the pair is the answer to that question?" The angel smiled and said, "You know, you couldn't have asked me a better question. In fact the first member of the pair IS the question you just asked. But that means the second member is the answer I'm giving you now."

12k cross country result
44. Roger Pilkington 47 M45 50:51 4:14/km
47. Geoff Moore 58 M55 51:42 4:18/km
54. John Kennedy 56 M55 52:36 4:23/km
58. Alan Green 57 M55 53:09 4:26/km
71. Geoff Sims 57 M55 61:19 5:07/km

Note that the results published for the Vets in today's Canberra Times are not necessarily correct. The above are.

8k cross country result - tomorrow hopefully

Running this Saturday?
Late entries for the Bush Capital Bush marathon close on Wednesday. I still haven’t decided if I am going to run the 16k or the 25k, it depends on what others want to do…. I will probably jog the 16k with others, the late entry for that is $25 compared with $50 for the 25k…

Convergence

A mathematician, a physicist, and an engineer were asked to review this mathematical problem. In a high school gym, all the girls in the class were lined up against one wall, and all the boys against the opposite wall. Then, every ten seconds, they walked toward each other until they were half the previous distance apart. The mathematician, physicist, and engineer were asked, " When will the girls and boys meet?" The mathematician said, " Never."The physicist said, " In an infinite amount of time." The engineer said, " Well... in about two minutes, they'll be close enough for all practical purposes."

It all came together today in the Cross Country Championships for those who ran, with everyone running good times on a better than usual day for the events. Bright sunshine made for a mild start and a light breeze kept us relatively cool. 12k is a long way to race on grass, so it was good to have firm footing for much of the run. 8k is still a long way for the women and the over-60 men on this course which takes a lot of concentration to keep the pace going.

I was pleased with the efforts of our elite women in the 8k, who pushed each other along to excellent performances and finished close together. Maria with a bit of a cold pushing through well in the second half, Katie who rarely races this far putting in surges early then hanging in well in the last 3k, and Helen sustaining a fast pace though exhausted and kicking home strongly. Annette stayed with them, and the others a little further back in the field did well too.

I was pleased with my effort in the 12k, although not terribly quick, it was a good sustained effort and I managed to pull away from many of my rivals in the second half. Roger ran well despite injury and was one of a few who did pull away from me while I was passing others. I have run many more ACT 12k Cross Country championships than anyone else, having missed very few since 1969. I will be relieved next year to run it for the last time, if I decide to do so, as after that I turn 60 and can run the 8k. Because, after a race that long off road, ....

Running Commentary

Thought for today - "Anyone can run 100 meters. . . . It's the next 4900 that count!"

Here's Saturday's program again for you locals, copied from "Coming Events".
Cross Country Championships, Weston Park.
10.15 am Under 12 Girls 2k, Under 12 Boys 2k
10.35 am Under 14 Girls 3k, Under 14 Boys 3k
10.55 am Under 16 Girls 4k, Under 16 Boys 4k, Under 18 Women 4k
11.25 am Under 20 Women 6k, Under 18 Men 6k
12.10 pm Under 20 Men 8k, Open Women 8k, Veteran Women 8k, Veteran Men (Over 60) 8k
1.00 pm Open Men 12k, Veteran Men (30 – 59) 12k.
Entry for veterans who are members of ACTVAC is no extra cost, but all veterans wishing to run as veterans must register before the start. They will then be tagged so as to be identifiable to the recorders. One day membership is $1.00 for non-members.

After publishing yesterday the photos of a seven year old grandaughter doing gymnastics, I took a grandson, who is about to turn six years old, to see the movie "Cars". Another high quality Pixar masterpiece. With a great message for pot hunters!

He laughed at the same bits I did. Scary! We laughed all the way through it. At the end (and we stayed to the very end for some very funny scenes after the credits) he said, with a wide smile, "Can we watch it again?"

It is great being a grandfather, rubbing shoulders with the young and learning again to think like a little child, one keen to explore everything around them and gain a larger understanding of reality.

Imagine you are six or seven years old, experiencing challenges for the very first time!

Recapture that sense of wonder, of wide eyed adventure, of openness to all the novelty that real life has to offer.

Stop watching that stupid "reality" TV program, don’t let them script reality for you, get out there and find the real reality.

Encounter the freshness of the new day, see the world with inquiring eyes, hear the sounds with new ears, realise that today has never happened before!

That's all I have to say today.

The view from the summit is worth the effort

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure . . . than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

My granddaughter Kayleigh (age 7) at the NSW State gymnastics titles, on bars

Kayleigh on floor

Kayleigh on beam

Last Word
We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. - Benjamin Franklin

My mother reads my blog

Excerpt from email -

"I have also been reading your webpage again, Geoff. I do look at it
about once a week...."

Goodness earth! What have I said!

Checking my jokes, quotes, and photos, phew they look OK. And I said channel nine were stupid, I didn't say what I really thought.

Isn't it funny how you will say anything and everything publicly in a blog that you might not say if you were talking to individuals. Like, your state of health, for example. Or whether Mr Flibble is very cross this week.

Even though I know my daughter reads my blog, that's never made me stop and panic. But my mother??

Does your mother read your blog?

Listen very carefully, I will say this only once!

Every so often I have been asked, "Do you think I would be able to run a marathon?"

Usually I say, "Yes anyone can run a marathon".

Although there's a lot of pain in the preparation. And time, and sacrifice.

If you have never run a marathon, but feel it is something you need to do, here are a few hints off the top of my head to indicate how to go about it.

1. Do you want to run a fast time?
Then to do yourself justice you need to build up your strength in training over many years, keeping up your natural speed while gradually extended the frequency and length of your training runs. Continue this for some years until you can run 600 kms per month while continuing to improve at short races, particularly 5 kms and 10 kms. Then ease off training and race the marathon, throwing caution to the winds by running evenly at a very fast pace to the half way mark and seeing if you can kick on from there.

After a fast marathon race take a month to recover before you revert to full speed training and racing again over shorter distances. And maybe only one or two marathons a year should be raced.

2. Or do you want to complete the distance whatever the time?
Then slow yourself right down and start running longer and longer in training, until you can run at least 300 kms comfortably per month without any trouble. Then you could run a marathon, but remember to run at a very conservative pace.

After such a marathon, ease back into the training again, noting that your preparation should have ensured you can get back into the long-easy routine within a few days. Don't attempt another marathon run though until you are well and truly ready.

And don't expect to excel over shorter distances.

3. Do you fall somewhere in between? Or are you unsure which category is you?
Then talk it through with your coach before making any long term decisions.

"Anyone can run a marathon". Perhaps. Not something to be taken lightly, though.

Edit: This article HAS been published in the August Vetrunner after all. So I WILL be saying this more than once.

A better week? Let's hope so.

My training progress

last week's target n/a actual 58k including a 10 mile race & one gym session

this week’s target 70k, 12k race, two gym sessions
quote of the week "Trample the weak. Hurdle the dead." – unknown, but has apparently experienced a “City to Surf”.
weight 64.5kg and falling
song of the week Anchor – Lifehouse – Stanley Climbfall.

I know that I'll never be alone
you will never let me go
you are my anchor
hold my hand
while I'm sinking in the sand
no one else could understand
you are my anchor

I was really looking forward to watching the Crows play the Kangaroos this Friday night. Guess what time the game is on? 5am Saturday morning. Unbelievable. Stupid channel nine. How pathetic. If they don't want to show the game at a reasonable time, let Foxtel take it. That way I could go down to Wests, find a small tv well away from the big screen showing NRL, and watch another thumping Crows victory. The Year of the Crow continues!

And I got it right with the "tumbles down" prediction two days ago, hey!

See you at training tonight rain or (moon) shine, and don't forget to look at "coming events" to see details of the cross country championships coming up this weekend.

Team Moore Ten Mile

Today's ten mile result highlights - not all that cold, very light drizzle if any, little wind, no officials, no km marks or other course markings, nothing. Thea's best ever run ever, well on target for a sub 1:40 half marathon soon. No casualties amongst the group after the sprints and surges we did in training last week.

Women
3. Thea Zimpel 1:14:19
5. Charlie McCormack W40 1:15:24
8. Maria O'Reilly W50 1:15:55
9. Cathy Newman W45 1:16:51
14. Kathy Sims W55 1:22:16
16. Caroline Campbell W60 1:25:08
17. Annemarie Calnan W50 1:25:23
20. Gabrielle Brown W40 1:26:13
21. Charmaine Knobel W50 1:26:16
23. Pam Faulks W45 1:29:02
25. Ruth Baussmann W55 1:30:20
26. Margaret McSpadden W55 1:30:21

Men
17. Richard Faulks M45 1:06:44
22. Bob Harlow M55 1:09:31
24. John Kennedy M55 1:09:51
35. Geoff Moore M55 1:14:06
37. Alan Green M55 1:14:52
45. Geoff Sims M55 1:23:45
46. Geoff Barker M60 1:24:02
47. Peter McDonald M50 1:24:26

This was a pathetic run from me, although certainly not my worst ever run ever, however everyone else was brilliant of course. On current (two weeks ago) form I should be able to run approximately 1:06.43 for this race. The fact that I had more pit stops during the run than I have ever had in all other races combined in a 45 year career is no excuse. Five pit stops! The good news is, I still felt better than I have on any day for the last two weeks.

Oh, I nearly forgot the 5k that was on at the same time.

Women
1. Katie Forestier W40 21:52

Men
6. Graeme Small M65 28:10

Yes those age groups are correct! And what a good turn-out from our team.

Run like a BIG CAT

Poetry in motion!
Percy Cerutty loved animal images. On one of my visits to Portsea, he showed us movies of leopards, cheetahs and tigers, to inspire us to run naturally and instinctively with power and relaxation. See yesterday's post!

Percy

Short post for the attention-deficit. (long post follows)

Q. What tumbles down in July?
A. Collingwood.

Philosopher and Coach

An Article by Col Davies
The Olympic movement has not been spared … in modern times drug programmed athletes of science have been engaged in never ending warfare with drug free athletes of natural excellence.

The drug controversy surrounding the Sydney Olympics would have angered and saddened legendary Australian athletics coach Percy Cerutty, whose unconventional methods were studied and copied by the best coaches in Europe and America. Fully acquainted with the darkness of the night, Cerutty discovered within the human soul there existed something greater and more powerful than any scientifically produced performance enhancing drugs.

In his best selling book “Beyond Winning: The Timeless Wisdom of Great Philosopher Coaches”, which profiles the lives and achievements of the world's few truly great coaches, American author Gary Walton said of Cerutty: “In the 23 years Cerutty actively coached at Portsea, 30 world record breakers followed his methods and fell victim to the Cerutty virus. Some men thought him a crank, many viewed him skeptically, but all agreed he was unique. A philosopher and a poet, an athlete and coach, and above all an individual, Percy Cerutty was a force in athletics like few others. Cerutty and the Stotans raised horizons and pushed forward our conceptions of human limits. They did it by living and believing in the Stotan Creed."

At the core of Cerutty's romantic philosophy of personal triumph through adversity was “strength through nature”. His Stotan creed, which borrowed much from the ancient Greeks, especially the Spartans, emphasised the values of persistence, self-denial, strength, simplicity, and fearlessness.

Sitting around the flickering camp fire at night in the peaceful salty air, Cerutty would inspire his athletes with stories about those non-conforming individuals whose fearless actions changed the course of human history, and quote from Plato, Aristotle, Buddha, Jesus, Einstein, Freud … and especially St Francis of Assisi. One of the athletes inspired by Cerutty was a 17-year-old Western Australian schoolboy champion, Herb Elliott, who in 1955 made the long journey across the Nullarbor to Portsea.

What was not readily discernible to those who gazed upon the gladiators of Portsea storming the windswept sand dunes of the rugged coastline was the hidden spiritual message of Cerutty's coaching.

At Melbourne's Olympic Park two years later, Elliott took on Australia's best in a race the media promoted as the ultimate contest between science and nature. The sporting world was shocked when the highly fancied Melbourne University trained runner, Merv Lincoln, was narrowly defeated by the nature hardened Elliott, whose sights now extended far beyond Australian shores.

The following year Elliott travelled to the United States, whose military and economic power dominated world affairs. That dominance had been threatened several months earlier when the Soviet Union became the first nation to put a satellite into outer space. The Soviet satellite sent shock waves through the corridors of power in Washington - and American self-belief was further eroded when Elliott comprehensively beat the best America had to offer.

The Australian champion and his coach were utterly appalled by what they heard and saw: life was focused on the mindless acquisition of material possessions, self-esteem was based on wealth, the pursuit of pleasure had resulted in most Americans being fat and flabby, the pace of life was frenetic, children were pampered and babies as young as six months were being propped in front of television sets.

Both Australians refused to remain silent and their unflattering observations about America's self indulgent life style received widespread coverage in the American press.

Their outspoken comments would make a powerful impact … especially on a youthful American Senator, John F. Kennedy, who would later win the 1960 presidency by asking his fellow Americans to walk beyond the narrow streets of personal self interest and travel together down a higher path of compassionate sacrifice.

Voicing his deep concern about the growing dangers posed by the soft nature of American society, Elliott said: “Money seemed to play far too important a part in the way of life. It appeared to me that the people were forgetting the simpler pleasures of exercise, family life and the observance of nature in their pursuit of material possessions. … A people who so thoroughly mollycoddle themselves must steadily become weaker, physically and spiritually. The Americans are not the only people who are insulating themselves from their environment; the tendency exists even in my own country.” The truth of Herb Elliott's convictions would be tested by his deeds and his ultimate challenge was soon at hand. There have been many great moments in Australian sport but few have rivalled Elliott's performance in the 1500 metres at the 1960 Rome Olympics. More than 90,000 spectators watched in sheer amazement as the young Australian powered away in the final lap from the star-studded field. Elliott went on to win by more than twenty metres, and his world record was hailed by experts as the most emphatic in Olympic history.

Soon afterwards, against Cerutty's advice, the 22-year-old Elliott, who remained unbeaten in races over a mile and 1500 metres, announced his retirement.

It was the end of an era and for the next 15 years. Until his death in 1975, Cerutty lived at Portsea where his radical teachings impacted significantly on all major areas of Australian sport, including, swimming, tennis, cycling, and football. Nevertheless, the wisdom of Cerutty would soon be forgotten and speaking about the essential difference between Cerutty and other coaches, Elliott said, “Percy coached the spirit.”

Even more amazing than Cerutty's spectacular success as a coach of sportsmen is the story of Cerutty the person. At the age of 43, while working as a government telephone technician, Cerruty suffered a nervous and physical breakdown. He was unable to drive and it was only with great difficulty that he could walk to the front gate to collect his mail. The smallest physical exertion left him totally exhausted. Doctors gave him but a few months to live. Cerutty refused to accept the medical verdict. As he clung desperately to the last tormented threads of an unfulfilled life of quiet desperation, he knew his only hope was to drastically change the way he lived. This was the defining moment in Cerutty's life … he took himself off all prescribed medication and embarked upon a radical journey of self healing.

The starting point for Cerutty was food to energise his sickly body. He made radical changes to his daily diet, which now consisted of boiled fruit and vegetables. Gone were animal fats, red meat, white bread and chemically produced foods. Recognising the long forgotten truth that the quality of our daily food determines the quality of our daily lives, Cerutty wrote: “We believe that the closer to nature our food is, the better it is for us. Closer to nature means, as we find it in nature, out in the gardens, fields, the woods and the sea. That means raw, unadulterated, unrefined, unprocessed. We are not vegetarians, but I say we could be and perhaps should be. We do not rely upon meat of any kind at all for strength … I seem to have read that in countries where the incidence of meat consumption is low, and the incidence of vegetarianism is high, there also the incidence of cancer is low. The high incidence in our country of deaths from cancerous growths is rather significant. I personally prefer to take no chances.”

To re-energise his depressed state of mind, Cerutty methodically devoured more than 200 of the world's great books of wisdom on subjects ranging from philosophy, autobiography, poetry, physiology and religion; to revitalise his broken spirit, Cerutty ventured alone into the bush in search of inner peace and to experience the awe-inspiring power of nature. Finding harmony in nature, the legendary Australian philosopher coach was born and the man who had risen above the limitations of medical science, said: “There are two schools of thought in this world. The first believes that the brain can think up all that is needed; that the brain is all – has superseded nature. … Then there is the other school, the mystical natures and it is to this category that I belong. I learnt early that nature is within us. Nature can bring the mind and body into perfect harmony and balance within the universe. This is one of the factors that allows the athlete to reach new levels of excellence.”

The old energy gradually returned but the anxiety attacks continued and, to overcome his personal fears and paranoia, Cerutty taught himself to dive. Starting on the three-metre board, he methodically edged higher and within two years had mastered his great fear of heights by diving off the high tower at Melbourne's St Kilda's baths. Determined to improve his stamina, he began to run again … seven years after his breakdown, Cerutty became only one of three Australians at that time to run 100 miles in less than 24 hours.

Though it seems incredible, at 55 years of age, Cerutty was now running longer distances and faster times than he had when at his prime in his early twenties.

Running alongside some of Australia's greatest racehorses, Cerutty learned the importance of relaxation and rhythm; from anthropoid apes he discovered the importance of no shoulder or body movement; from the antelope and gazelle he observed the critical importance of running over the ground rather than upon it. And from the leopard, cheetah and tiger, Cerutty learnt the secrets of rapid down-to-earth power and speed.

The natural talent and lightning speed of Australian Aborigines have in recent times been nurtured and developed by several AFL coaches, but 50 years earlier that speed and talent had been a vital source of inspiration and higher learning for Cerutty, who revealed:

“ I teach an original technique based on my own researches, as to primitive man, animals and, above all, our own Australian Aborigines. This race, cut off from all other cultures and civilisations for countless thousands of years, is, as far as I have discovered, the only race of people from whom we can learn how God or nature truly expected us to move over the ground. In a word, they appear to me to be, until contaminated by our civilisation, the only perfect movers, posture, walking and running, in our world. And they move differently to all other people. Put their feet to the ground differently. Hold themselves differently. Carry their arms differently. This is what I teach.”

Challenging his athletes to open their culturally imprisoned minds to higher levels of learning and wisdom, Cerutty would never tire of emphasising: “The power rests within us."

Such was evident to Carl Jung, the great Swiss psychologist, whose research led to the discovery that all human wisdom, past present and future, was contained deep within the human spirit in what he called the supra-conscious mind. Yogi Ramacharaka, the revered Indian philosopher, spoke of the spiritual mind that elevated the human mind above the heartless logic of the physical brain and was the loving source of everything good and noble in human society. Many of today's elite coaches still believe that the secrets of victory are to be found above the shoulders, but the Australian coach whose athletes collectively broke a staggering 50 world records knew differently!

Questioned about this mysterious inner force, Cerutty said: “What is this power within us? Some call it God. Bergson calls it the elan vital. I see it as the life principle and its measure is in the degree of intensity in which it is found within us. … In athletics this spirit will find its outlet in competition and achievement. Commencing with capital we possess, we nevertheless press on. The impossible is reasonable to these people.”

A prophet without honour in his own land, Cerutty fervently believed that everyone had the power deep within to be successful in something, sometime and somewhere. His unquenchable thirst for universal wisdom made him increasingly critical of modern scientific coaching methods, whose 'controloholic' and fear-driven training shackled individual spontaneity and trampled the natural joys of sport.

Individual self reliance was paramount and Cerutty recognised that the will to win could not survive unless the human spirit was constantly nurtured by inner peace and harmony.

Finding inner harmony has many sources and for Cerutty it was acquired in the outer world by listening to the music of Beethoven or Verdi or admiring the great masterpieces of da Vinci or Michelangelo.

In the inner world it was acquired by being at one with all people and all races. But most of important of all it was being at peace with nature. Outlining the cornerstone of his creed, Cerutty said: “My Stotan philosophy is based on communication with nature. This communication takes place when the person sleeps under the stars at night, hears the birds in the morning, feels the sands between his toes, smells the flowers, hears the surf. Nature can bring the mind and body into perfect harmony and balance with the Universe.”

Col Davies is a co-author of "The Three Minute Coach".

I visited the training camp at Portsea many time during my years at High School, and Percy Cerutty's style of coaching led to my 4:32 mile at the age of 16; barefoot on Adelaide Oval.