Percy Cerutty: "Why I Stress the Physical"

There are in my opinion two must have Cerutty books. One is, of course is, Athletics: How To Become A Champion and Success: In Sport and Life. The "Success" book is not readily available but I would highly recommend trying to obtain a copy. It is loaded with applicable insights and advice for the athlete as well as those who just want to be "successful" in whatever field they have chosen.


In the following quote Cerutty describes what I have found to be true, a strong body can lead to a strong mind and a strong will. But again, it's not just about building your body, it's also about developing your mind. Cerutty delves into this whole subject, the hows and whys in his Success: In Sport and Life book. Consider:


"It is said that I over-emphasize the physical, the importance of muscular strength, I will defend my attitude by saying that only the truly strong, as the pure in heart, can ever develop the spirit that lives without oppressive fears. All others will tend to compromise: turn away from the sacrifice, recant under pressure, or for self-preservation, or what is worse, pretend to an unctuousness(false sincerity) that is both unworthy as it is hypocritical and conceited."


Agree!

Cerutty's Measure-Rod For Success

What are the key ingredients a person needs to achieve athletic and what I will call 'worldly" success? Thousands upon thousands of books have been written on this subject. There are a multitude of people who have made careers out of advising people on what it takes and how to be successful.


What follows is what Percy Cerutty calls his 'measure-rod' for success. I believe I will listen to what Percy has to say because as Gary Walton writes in his book Beyond Winning, in his 23 years of active coaching, Cerutty coached 30 world champions, not 20, as I mistakenly wrote the other day.


The measure-rod for success, the athlete needs:


1.To be born with above average ability but not necessarily outstanding ability.
2. They need an intelligence suitable for the tasks ahead of him. This needs to be of a high order. But I make a distinction between intelligence(wisdom) and cleverness which may be only cunning and memory. It is far more important that you have a good I.Q. than you can merely pass exams. If you 'feel' you have above average ability, both physically and mentally, that is enough.
3.They need a persistence factor that does not easily give in--give up when not successful; that you can train on, struggle on, when things look hopeless, black.
4.They need to be one of those whose spirits rise and feel good when things are tough in adversity; one who is a 'tiger for punishment'; does not talk about 'sacrifices'; and sees, mostly,the goals to be attained to.
5.They need to be one who finds working hard for what they want normal; is surprised when they find others expect short cuts, ease of accomplishment.
6.Who believe that they could do 'it'--or something, and feel confirmed and pleased when they find their 'beliefs' can come true; that someone else may, surprisingly as it seems, believe so, too.
7.They are one who will:
(a,) Change your job, environment, country even, if it seems right to do so, to achieve your ends(not only athletic ends).
(b.)Have a natural, inherent attitude to be attracted, seek or find the 'best', whether it be in coaches, music, places or persons.


The above is a great check list, for yourself, for others; whether in sport or out of sport.

Racing and Keeping Things in Perspective

Those of us who live for the run and train to race well can relate to the following by Dr. George Sheehan. Actually, it is applicable to all who compete, irregardless of the sport.


 "The race should be the ultimate test of my running ability, the stopwatch, the final judge, but I never really believe it. I always feel I could do better, that I have not exhausted the limits of my talent and training. Most of all, I fear I have not given a full one hundred percent."


I have felt the way Dr. Sheehan describes countless times. In some ways, it is a good way to feel, in other ways it can be destructive. You want to do better but hardly ever being satisfied with a performance can turn what was once doing something you loved into a "job" and drudgery.
I believe it is a given that serious runners always want to improve. It is an ongoing quest for us.


I say this: we will run countless races. Each race, good and bad, provides an opportunity to learn more about ourselves mentally and physically. Recognize that, appreciate that.
Lastly, and don't ever forget this, even though it is human nature to do so, be thankful that you are alive and have the physical well being to do something you love.


I guess that's my "sermon" for this Sunday. Now go out and go long. If you haven't done so already.

Cerutty and Schedules

Cerruty offered this admonition to his athletes: "It is almost universally desired to discover the 'schedule' that the successful athlete has trained to, as if the copying of any schedule could be expected to produce the same result for another athlete irrespective of place age, type, disposition, initial strength, initial ability and other factors."

You may recall reading previously that it was Cerutty's desire that his athletes would eventually become independent, able to formulate their own training programs. 

I think that as novice runners we all once tried to follow a schedule that we found in a magazine or a book. I know I did, many times. I remember the wise words of Arthur Lydiard when he said at a seminar I attended in the early 90's: we are to use his schedules as a guide. He said we should customize them to fit us without altering the essence(a progression of base, to strength, to speed, to racing).

When I first began coaching high school and younger athletes, I quickly found that they had a variety of strengths and weaknesses. There was no, one size fits all program I could give them. Out of about 25 to 30 distance runners I had to break them up into 4 groups with different training schedules to meet their needs. Needless to say, all began with some type of base program.

With the New Year here, this is a good time to give thought and consideration about your training program. Evaluation and re-evaluation should be the order of the day. What have you found to be your strengths and weaknesses this past year? Is your schedule addressing these issues? If not why?

 As far as a training program, I assume we all have one.

If we claim to be committed and dedicated, it is only natural we will have one.

An Old Runner Reflects On What Is To Come

Forgive me for "waxing poetic" again but I do that from time to time. Although in great health, as you get older you occasionally give some thought on how it will all end. Then, you think of how you would like it to end. Hey, running has and is my life, I've been running for years after my Ortho doc told me to quit and I'm doing just fine. Those who love to run will be able to relate to this.


No slow decline or painful fade to black for me.
No, I want a night before filled with trading stories and drinking beer with my friends,
Followed by a morning after run along an old forest trail under a misty overcast sky.
Let me feel that effortless glide as I go that only comes but once in a great while.
Just give me an hour, no make that two, as I cruise on down that increasingly dark trail
That will suddenly turn to light.

Recollections of Cerutty, Pt.1

Percy Wells Cerutty, as I'm sure most of you who have read anything about him realize, was a complex character. As I have written before, he could be rude,crude and insulting. Add to that,  occasionally shameless, attention seeking and totally self-centered. Graham Sims' bio on Percy provides insight into what contributed to these less that favorable traits. An early life of deprivation(physical and emotional), neglect and serious illnesses were all contributing factors to these  behaviors.However, I choose to go with what his number one student and Olympic champion Herb Elliott had to say about him: "In spite of his rough, brusque manner,he's a kind warm-hearted soul."
Also, we must not forget that Cerutty dedicated his entire adult life to helping others reach their potential mentally and physically using techniques he developed himself.
I would be remiss not to add that Cerutty first rebuilt and reclaimed his own life.
According to Gary Walton in his book Beyond Winning:The Timeless Wisdom of Great Philosopher Coaches, Percy coached over 20 record holders and champions in a variety of sports.
On the coast of Australia he created at his Camp Portsea the ideal environment to train athletes.
What follows are some stories,insights and quotes that I'm sure you will find to be helpful in your quest for excellence.

The first is an account by Peter Masters head of PMA books in Brisbane, Australia. Peter was the man who had Percy's books republished. I can't say how glad I am that this gentleman made Percy's books available again. I'll add this, about 25 years ago I knew someone who was going to Australia and asked him to pick up a couple of books by Cerutty. I just assumed that they would be available in any bookstore. Well, as they say, don't assume anything because he came back empty handed, said he even went to more than one bookstore. Frankly, I was shocked. How could this be?

Back to Peter and his experience with Cerutty. In the Publisher's Foreword of the republished Athletics: How To Become A Champion, he writes how as a 16 year he trained for two weeks at Portsea in Victoria, Australia. In his words:

"What do I remember about Portsea and about Percy?
First Impressions: a madman!
Well not really but I never met anyone like him before.
He was scary to a 16 year old, but compelling. He had a larger than life persona.
I remember it was hot at Portsea which made training even more arduous.
I remember training up the sandhills.
One day, a boy blacked out in front of me and tumbled down the sandhill and when I went to his aid, Percy yelled out words to the effect that 'he's not dead so don't stop'.
The boy recovered of course but the incident illustrated Percy's determination."

The take away for me from this account is two-fold: one, I think it is essential to create or place yourself in the ideal training environment to achieve maximum results. I've known athletes who recognize the value of the trails and hills yet won't take the time to travel to get to them. They'd just as soon go out their front door and 'get it in' (their workout).
Secondly, a determination that is focused and unwavering is needed. Again, we go back to what I have written previously, do you truly believe in the worthiness of your physical aspirations? If not, your determination will eventually wane.For those who say a devotion to athletic endeavors is inappropriate I side with Cerutty who wrote: "Athleticism, in my view, is not a sport: not a cult: it is a way of life." Or try this one when people tell you, you should concentrate on your career: "What profits a man if he makes a million and ends up a hypochondriac, or is dead at fifty!"
I say that when properly incorporated in your life, athletics makes you a better and more complete person.

I close with Part 1 of this series with a quote by Cerutty that says it all:
"The mastery of the true self, and the refusal to permit others to dominate us is the ultimate in living,and self-expression in athletics."
See, the true Stotan recognizes that it is more than just about medals, trophies,etc.,but, you have to be open and receptive to the truth Cerutty taught. Reading his books, and of course my blogs,  (shameless self-promotion there), are a good place to start, not to mention practicing what he taught.

Looking back, Those Great Old Running Books

With the New Year upon us and our athletic schedules and goals hopefully set, we must not forget the necessity of educating our mind. Cellphones, TV, the computer, etc. has severely cut down on what I call recreational reading but not for us Stotans. In Cerutty's world, there was no place for the stereotyped "dumb jock".


There is one thing that I really miss and something that was so readily available in the '70's, great running books.Be they "how-to train" or biographies,the '70's were the golden age for running books
.For me,it only takes a trip to the local bookstore to confirm that this era is long gone. To make matters worse,most of the books that were such an integral part of a runner's bookshelf way back when are now out of print, occasionally available online at outrageous prices.If you want to see proof of this, look on Amazon for some of the books by John L Parker and any by Percy Cerutty(the originals that is). As a matter of fact,the bio on Cerutty by Graem Sims,Why Die,is selling used for $99. and $416.new. Until a few years back when they finally re-released Parker's classic, Once a Runner,it was selling used for over a hundred dollars.
My hope in this brief article is to acquaint some of the readers to the books that offer timeless instruction and inspiration.
One of the guys I trained with in the late '70's and throughout the '80's was Ralph Zimmerman. He was a very successful masters' runner who ran the 1980 Olympic trials' marathon. I recall the time he showed me the training schedules that Arthur Lydiard had sent him.
I should add here that Arthur would always respond to inquiries. I still have the two letters he wrote me in the early '90's that were in response to some training questions I'd had.It is interesting how many of the great people like Lydiard do not regard themselves as too important or busy to take a moment and write back.
Sometime after copying the schedules, Ralph lent me Lydiard's book, Running the Lydiard Way, and what a treasure it was. I ended up xeroxing most of it at work. The book was loaded with biographical info as well tons of schedules for a variety of distances and age-groups.It also explained the hows and whys in respect to why you train and race the way he recommended.
 As Lydiard used to say,if a coach can't give you a good reason as to why you are doing a particular work-out,then you need to get another coach.
I believe this book is still available at a reasonable price online.It's a must have for those who live for the run.
In the early '70's, the people who published Runner's World put out a series of booklets on runners that are classics and very hard to find today. There was The Frank Shorter Story by John L.Parker,Tale of the Ancient Marathoner(Jack Foster),one about Gerry Lindgren and another about ultra-legend Ted Corbitt.
I recently looked at Amazon for a price on Tale of the Ancient Marathoner and saw that it was going for $250., used!
Another great book was the one that I featured in an earlier post called,The Self-Made Olympian by Ron Daws. Other books that were similar in subject and content were, Running to the Top by former world marathon record holder(12 years) Derek Clayton and Always Young,a bio about George Young,a four time Olympian.
 I will always remember Derek Clayton's comments in response to Bill Rodgers and other top American runners who said they needed to be sponsored so they could train full-time and not work. Clayton said that he believed there were just so many hours in a day that you could devote to training and that having a job was,if anything,a help, not a hindrance to his running.
Then there was a book called,Van Aaken Method by Dr.Ernst van Aaken which heavily stressed long slow distance with careful monitoring of food intake.Some of his students included Olympic medalist Harold Norpoth and Manfred Steffney,marathoner and author of another excellent running book,Marathoning.
Some other must have books are, Serious Runners Handbook by Tom Osler,Marathoning by Bill Rodgers and Joe Concannon,anything by John L.Parker,especially Runners and Other Dreamers.Include on this list any of the Percy Cerutty books but number one should be, Athletics:How To Become A Champion. Occasionally you will see this book available on Ebay but it isn't cheap (it has since been rereleased in paperback)..
There are probably a few other books that I have forgotten but I would be remiss not to include Kenny Moore. Fortunately,his books are available through his website and he will sign them for you if desired. His book, Best Efforts, is a phenomenal book that offers a variety of profiles on such runners as Pre,Mary Decker,Ron Clarke,John Walker,Lassen Viren,Bill Rodgers as well as several others.
There are two things that all these books I've mentioned have in common,one, is that almost all of them are out of print,the other, is what I mentioned earlier, they all offered instruction and inspiration. There was a sense of optimism and getting personal in these books that I find lacking in the running books published today.
Perhaps I've been spoiled by those great running books of decades past. To those who would like to get some of the books I've mentioned I'd suggest you continue to look online and never pass by a used bookstore without going inside.Take it from me,you may find a book that is going for a $100.+ online selling for two dollars on some grungy bookshelf. I have.
I call it modern day treasure hunting for those who live for the run.