Cerutty Stories, pt.1

The following is from the book Beyond Winning--The Timeless Wisdom of Great Philosopher Coaches by Gary Walton. It gives an insight into the nature and person of Percy Cerutty.


"Aside from softness, perhaps nothing annoyed Percy more than a coach who failed to practice what he preached. While in Los Angeles, soon after Elliott ran the fastest mile ever recorded on American soil, they both attended an instructional clinic on track and field at UCLA. All of America's leading coaches were there along with their athletes who went through prescribed paces and demonstrations while the coaches lectured to the audience of  nearly 2,000. Puffing their cigars and cigarettes (this was in the late 1950's),the American coaches glibly ordered their athletes around taking about 15 minutes each on the microphone system. When it was finally Cerutty's turn to speak, he was told he had two minutes. He didn't need three. According to Elliott, his coach 'electrified the arena' as he called all the coaches  'a pack of pompous clowns who had no right teaching students in that fashion'. When he'd finished, the coaches were bristling with anger and embarrassment."
Blunt and outspoken, sometimes to a fault, Cerutty  believed that if a coach couldn't do it he couldn't teach it.

What It Takes To Be A Champion

The following is THE classic Cerutty essay, there's really not much more I can say because the following says it all.


What It Takes To Be A Champion


In the beginning a world class or world champion type of athlete must have the ability above the average but not necessarily be at the top of his age group or other classification.
Indeed, even above inherent natural ability it is important that innate worth be born with the athlete. He will be found to be persistent not easily discouraged (indeed, set-backs will be a spur and goal), intelligent, self- reliant and ambitious once he sees the road ahead and the means to get to his destinations.
I myself believe that nature does not fool us. If we feel within ourselves real potentiality, abilities, we can reasonably attain to any goals that we may conceive of for ourselves, and when these ideas or feelings about ourselves persist. We all know the youth and man who is going to do something but in a week or month has forgotten all about that goal, completely abandoned all goals or switched to others, most equally fatuous. But if the feeling of ability to achieve in something, sometime, somewhere, persists with us, becomes part of us, we can be assured of results mostly beyond our earliest dreams. To cleave to your ambitions, have faith in yourself and believe that if you do the work results must be achieved. But also believe that if work alone did things, then all good laborers would end up rich. We know that many don't.
 It is intelligent work that does things --  intelligent training methods, new ideas, especially when proved, that can work miracles.We must be receptive to the new ideas, be prepared ourselves to march into the future, and either discover new methods, new training concepts or find someone who has done so.
   Seek, and you do find, in time. Ask, and you do get the information, but perhaps not from the sources you thought. Knock and some superior person, coach or teacher will take you in, but you may have to try many doors.
Summed up: You can become what you think you can become. But you must find the teacher or discover new methods for yourself, as did Parry O'Brian:
   Remember: Work does do things, but it is superior work, highly intelligent work, often exhausting, soul killing work that gets one out of the rut, makes one a world figure, no matter in what field. Never entirely give up when discouraged, frustrated.


 Every difficulty carries within itself the means of its own solution. The test for you is to find that means, that teacher. There is a teacher, a way-shower, at every cross road in life. You never know that until you reach the cross-road. He is not available while you are on the journey to his place in life.
    You cannot be taught until you are ready to be taught. And you cannot function until you are ready to function.
    In the ultimate, if you are to succeed, you must believe in the worth whileness of your goals, find the means to attain them and do the essential work, make the personal effort. No one can do it for you. No one can travel the road for you, do your training and your thinking. At the best you can only find a way-shower and teacher. I hope you will feel, in reading this small exposition, that you gain something to help you to your ends, your goals, your successes.
   I would have it so-- so it merely remains for you to do your part.

 You can, if you but will.

May all success be yours. It can!

{Percy Wells Cerutty

Portsea, Victoria

Australia

                                                                   Febuary, 1959

Training With Cerutty, The Marathon, pt.2

We learned in part one that Cerutty viewed the marathon as being an event in which only the serious, well conditioned athlete should compete. He also believed that training on hard surfaces were a detriment to a runner. The obvious problem with this type of surface was the stress it causes on the body which increases one's susceptibility to being injured. There was another reason and that was: "athletes who train most continuously on hard surfaces are noted for short(er) strides and mincing gaits. So the marathon man, meaning the road runner, must watch that his musculature does not respond by shortening his stride as a result of running on these hard surfaces, thus causing the development of a restricted gait that almost completely inhibits the possibility of being a free mover, with commensurate high speeds."
As previously noted in part one,  Cerutty was a believer in being able to run the marathon distance in training. Once you could do that he taught that marathoners should do a lot of their training at their projected per mile marathon pace. Consider--"He will get his body used to his hoped for marathon speed by running 3 or 5 miles at this pace then easing down between the efforts sufficiently to recover. If he can manage two or three repetitive efforts he will have had a very good workout."
Cerutty also thought that marathoners had to be careful that they didn't develop into 'plodders' as a result of doing miles upon miles in workouts. He advocated the practice of surging distances up to a mile throughout the course of their long runs. He acknowledged that doing so required time but it was an essential component of training because--"As we train so we race. And we shall race as we have trained." (a great quote).
Cerutty also urged athletes to run, "not necessarily any great distance, even five miles, and learn to race faster over the last quarter mile." The rationale for this practice was to develop a 'conditioned response'. Developing this conditioned response "makes fast finishing efforts normal and automatic."
As he wrote--"How futile to have run 26 miles and then be beaten because one was unable by an effort of will to increase pace."
In closing Cerutty said---"Marathon running must now be considered as we once considered 10 and 15 mile events: a distance event, but one in which speed is a very definite factor. It is all a matter of concepts: stepped up training and added power(strength)."
Well said!

A Quiet Strength

Part two of the Marathon article will be on Monday, Consider the following--


A Quiet Strength
It's a quiet strength, not one borne from slogans printed on t-shirts or bodies. It's a strength acquired from a conditioning and lifestyle that has no need of vain proclamations. It's a strength earned by challenging yourself daily within the simplicity and sometimes harshness of nature while striving to obtain victory over oneself in the process. Ultimately, it's a quiet inner strength gained from a life you've chosen, understanding that there are no sacrifices in this process, it is a labour of love devoid of pretense.

Training With Cerutty, The Marathon, pt.1

The following is not meant to be a comprehensive view on training for the marathon by Cerutty. Instead, it is intended to provide a few insights into ways of preparing for a marathon.
Cerutty believed that the marathon was not to be taken lightly as far too many runners do today. It is no surprise that he did not hold to a --'to finish is to win' mentality.I would quickly add here that thousands of people are being done no favors when they are led to believe that they can go from zero to marathon in 6 to 8 months. I often wonder how many people give up running after trying to run a marathon before they are ready. In fairness to them, there are lots of running 'experts' out there who teach that you can run a marathon by following what basically amounts to a 'crash' course.
The great Greta Waitz said it best decades ago--"Many of those who attempt a marathon would do better if they ran a 10k instead."
Cerutty was less diplomatic when he said this--"Too many poor types get an easy ego gratification by plodding in poor form and style over the marathon distance in what amounts to really poor times and performances that tend to make a burlesque of one of the toughest events in any sport any man can compete in." Ouch! I say this, I give credit to all who attempt the marathon, prepared or not, but, I hold to the school of thought that racing this distance should come after years of training and many miles under your legs. I've seen lots of people short circuit successful running careers at other shorter distances by getting into the marathon too soon.
Cerutty believed that a newcomer to the marathon should work towards covering the full marathon distance in training. I know that for years the staple of marathon training was the weekly 20 miler. Personally, as I look back, this didn't really work for me. I say this because the last 2 or 3 miles of the marathons I raced with this kind of training we're quite painful, to say the least. It was when I ran for 'time out on my feet' as Arthur Lydiard used to say, that things greatly improved for me in the marathon. Adding a few 3 to 3 1/2 hour runs were the key. I would quickly add that those workouts did involve some walking breaks.
Cerutty offered another suggestion for newcomers and that involved hard mountain walking of up to 30 miles to supplement their early training. It is also no surprise that he recommended gymnastic work and weight training. It's all about building mental, muscular, and overall body strength. Doing this type of preparatory strength work greatly work reduces the likelihood of getting the injuries that are all too common in marathoners.
Cerutty was also against training on blacktop or concrete. He correctly noted that doing so made a runner more prone to injury. I am well into my 5th decade of running injury free because of the fact that towards the middle of the 1980's I started training exclusively on dirt roads,trails,in parks and on hard packed sand. It's a sad fact that as you get older you will notice, as I have, friends leaving the sport because their legs, knees and backs could no longer take the pounding on these hard, unforgiving surfaces.
Coming in a few days, pt. 2 of Training With Cerutty, The Marathon. It will offer some specifics on marathon preparation.

Training the Stotan Way: Suffering in Silence

The planned post on Cerutty and marathon training will be delayed by a few days. As I was about to begin my weight workout today I thought it would be nice to put on a little Marley (as in Bob) while I was lifting. I never listen to music while working out but I was having trouble getting motivated, it felt like it was a hundred degrees in my garage. A thought then came into my head, what would Cerutty do?  Well, if you've read anything by Perc (as he was often referred to), you'd know that there would be no music. Although a great lover of music, Cerutty believed there was a time and place for everything.
All this got me to thinking. We are always surrounded by some kind of noise most of our waking day. Think about it, talking, music, cars, TV, phones, etc.,etc. The mind needs a reprieve and rest from all this 'noise.' We need time to be alone with our thoughts, to think and consider. When I lift in silence, I find myself thinking about the workout, am I maintaining proper form, stuff like that. When I'm out on a long run I think of and ponder a wide range of things. I think back to what Dr. George Sheehan once said, "I do my best thinking when I'm out on a long run."
No 'noise' helps us to focus on the task at hand. If our goal is optimal fitness and/or performance, we deserve to give all our attention to the task at hand.
Stotan up!
As a treat, the link below will take you to poetry in motion--22 seconds of Herb Elliott destroying the field, in silence, at the 1960 Olympic 1500 meter final.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HEI0icuIG0

Percy Cerutty and Coaching

Readers of my other blog--www.torunistolive.blogspot.com --may recall that there were several posts relating to Cerutty's views on the nature of coaching. The following, although not written by him, certainly are in line with what he taught.
In teaching your athletes instruct them to:
1. Set reasonable goals.
2. Use only positive statements in discussions with your athletes.
3. Help the athlete rationalize and understand poor or disappointing performances.
4. Help the athlete plan intelligently for a race.
5. Be knowledgeable of the sport, as in the psychology, physiology and mechanics.
6. Be strong-willed; don't waiver in your  determination or lose yourself emotionally during the competition.
7. Don't convey the coach as indispensable--rather work to build self-reliance in the athlete.


If only all coaches were able to convey the above to their athletes. I know in my experience I had far more bad coaches than good ones. I would quickly add that these men were not bad people, they just didn't understand the fullness of teaching and guiding athletes. Perhaps this was due in large part to the fact that, as Cerutty wrote, "those that can't do, can't teach." In doing, I'm sure Cerutty wasn't just referring to the physical aspects but also to the mental and emotional aspects that go along with 'the doing'.
Next post will be on Monday, it'll deal with Cerutty's take on marathon training. The fall marathon training season is upon on us, so  it seemed like a good choice. He has insights into marathon training that are certainly unique.
By the way, I'm on Facebook, go to Stotan Runners.