Where there is pain, that’s where success lies….

Where there is pain, that’s where success lies….

Recently, I was reading an article in Melbourne’s Saturday Age newspaper on Iain Page’s interview with Kenyan champion marathon runner, Eluid Kipchoge. Beaten only twice in his entire career, this dual Olympic gold medallist portrays a picture of near-perfect comfortability while pushing through the most gruelling sections of his endurance running. The fact that Kipchoge doesn’t look tired; his face, as with his body, depicts an aura of calmness and serenity no matter how long the journey, has led some to ask if he is really human. The athlete replies “absolutely”! He goes on to explain that he has a goal with his pain. He tells his brain that where the pain is, so too, lies his success. When his mind tells him that his body is hurting, he reminds his brain that the more he hurts, the closer to success he is. There is much to take from this dominant, yet humble, extraordinary man. He reminds himself during the last painful twelve kilometres of his run that he has been doing a really good job so far, so he will not let those final kilometres injure him. “I do not have to stop, or slow down” he reminds himself. What a mantra to borrow from this Kenyan tea farmer, this most successful marathoner of all time. Referring to his success in being the first man to run a special 42.195km marathon in under two hours, he is asked about the impact that shoe technology (the super shoe) has on his successes. He likens it to the super-suits of swimming (now banned) and the emergence of laptops, zoom and Wi Fi. “It is called progress. Let’s embrace it” he replies. While he is adamant that no amount of shoe foam makes a champion, he shows us his attachment to humanity in his concern for those athletes from poorer nations who cannot afford expensive shoes. Amid all of his incredible successes, this humble Kenyan tea farmer retains a genuine concern for his less fortunate fellow man. He closes with the assurance that running the marathon in under two hours is a certainty. After all he says, “it’s all about saying 'Yes I Can'.”

Photo: Carole at the Valley Pool Brisbane- sixty years after her first competition there