Insights on Strength and Spirit By Herb Elliott

The timeless wisdom of Percy Cerutty and his most famous student, Herb Elliott.
Interviewer James O'Brien, while talking with Herb Elliott in regards to the things that Percy Cerutty taught him early in his career, made this comment: "It does seem that you were totally immersed in what you were doing." Elliott responded: "Certainly that was one of Percy's beliefs, that if you immersed yourself in something and wanted it enough,made it part of your total being,then it was inevitable that it would be achieved.One of the things he suggested that I read were yoga books. Yoga(editor: for those who may not know,yoga is much more than just stretching) is based on quieting the appetites and the demands of the body and allowing the strength of spirit to come through. That's very appropriate for athletics,to challenge the weaknesses of your body and develop the inner drive to carry you through the pain and lethargies and all the things that athletes go through. It was a matter of taking total control of the external part,or the unreal part, to enable the real part,or the internal part to dominate."
O'Brien had this to say in response to these remarks: "You were addressing philosophical issues that 99% of runners didn't even look at then and probably still don't now." Herb answered with these insightful comments: "Perhaps so. It was a matter of understanding that you're driven by that bit inside you that for a want of a better word we call the spirit, and that the spirit needs to be nurtured and developed and that to do that you need to subjugate your body. And you need peace and you need quiet and you need beauty; all of those sorts of things which enable the spirit to grow. Your strength comes from that. The development of the aerobic power and the muscle efficiency and all that sort of stuff just comes as a by-product. I think that was a slightly different approach.My goal was to subjugate the body and master my weaknesses."
Some look to Jerry Lynch and other mind body,sports psychology types to gain an edge but what Herb Elliott talks about above comes from a voice with the experience and the results that validate what he says.
There are athletes who consider only the body in training, some are wise enough to also consider using and developing their minds,but the key is to involve the body,mind and spirit. This however takes a willingness to put in the time and to be able to recognize the immense benefits that can be gained from doing so.

The Ideal State of Mind

The following is something I came across recently, it is by Dr. James Loehr, who is among other things, a sport's psychologist. Dr. Loehr lists what he calls the "12 aspects" that comprise the ideal way to feel if you are going to perform optimally. He developed this list after interviewing hundreds of successful athletes in a variety of sports.
I believe this is an excellent checklist that appears to cover everything in regards to how one should feel and be prior to competition. Here goes: 1."Physically relaxed 2.Low anxiety 3. Optimistic 4. Effortless 5. Alert 6. Self-confident 7. Mentally calm 8. Energized 9. Enjoyment 10. Automatic 11. Mentally focused 12. In control".
How do you feel prior to competition?

More Than Just Fitness

Cerutty taught the following and Dr. Sheehan affirmed it. Too many people forget or don't give thought to the following:
"Physical fitness programs have long been based on the desire to lead a long life, to forestall heart attacks, to feel better generally or to improve your figure.
 No one ever told us that the body determined our mental and spiritual energies. That with the new body we can put on the new person and build a new life, the life we were always designed to lead but lost with the body we enjoyed in our youth."
George Sheehan, runner, writer, physician.

An Old Timer Looks at Today's Running Scene and Gary Cantrell

Way back when, three or four decades ago, I read the following article by Gary Cantrell (pictured above) in Ultrarunning magazine. I loved it, still do for that matter because I can relate to it.
 I ran AAU Developmental races towards the late 60's and began to run the few road races around my area in the early 70's and continued to do so until I switched exclusively to trail running and racing in 1990. I saw the local road racing scene change over the years.
Fast forward as they say, two years ago friend and veteran trail runner Emmett Harrigan suggested I watch a documentary on the Barkley Marathon. For those who may not know, Barkley is way beyond the 26.2 distance. It is a quirky, grueling, gut and soul busting ultra run. Evidence of this is that at this year's race there were no finishers.
Getting back to the documentary, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Cantrell was the man who founded and guides this "race"( survival run?) with his twisted sense of humor still intact.
The distance world needs more Gary Cantrells.
Gary's article is between the quotes below. Enjoy
 "There was a time, only a few decades ago, when those of us in the tiny running community used to smugly tell one another that running would never be popular---No one will be willing to work this hard but us---The running boom of the 70's dispelled that myth and changed the face of our sport. It seemed that the cozy, insider atmosphere evaporated and we were absorbed into the huge mass of newcomers.
As the 90's kicked in, an excursion into sub-marathon racing is as disturbing as a visit to our childhood home. Once we were the masters of the sport, dispensing our hard-earned wisdom to eager novices. These days, the old-time runners are peculiarities, outcasts among the denizens of the sport we once called our own. The same people who found acceptance into the running community required nothing more than showing up and giving it a shot, now huddle in cliques with a dress code for acceptance. Battered racing flats that once bespoke a foot warrior who had paid his dues now draw stares of derision from those who spend over a dollar a mile on footwear. Faded shorts and moth-eaten t-shirts are ostracized among the tight little circles of polyester peacocks. Maybe I am too touchy but it is a little irritating for my baggy shorts to draw snickers from men who come to race in their wife's underwear.
It's ironic when I consider the running scene today that it has come to pass that the real running community of the 90's is just as small and just as isolated as that of the 60's.There can be no question that today's running is sterile and poor by comparison with that of the "good old days" Growth and progress simply do not always go hand and hand."

 I understand what Cantrell is getting at here. He sees a running scene that has evolved and has lost some of the qualities that made it unique.

Training Alone

Training with others is a good thing to do at times. If you are a runner, easy workouts or long runs are an excellent time to have others along.
However, there are occasions in training when you need to be alone, alone with your thoughts, alone to think and prepare mentally, free of the distraction of having to interact with others.

Percy Cerutty, athlete, coach, philosopher, had this to say on the necessity of training solo:

"For the mind to become lost in the subject at hand there must be no serious interruptions, or any interruptions at all. There must be ample training opportunities wherein the activity and the person merge into one. This can never be attained other than in reasonable isolation or solitude."

He goes on to state that he believes that those who will not take what he calls, at-one-ment time, "will most likely never achieve the successes that otherwise could be theirs."

Take The Cerutty/Stotan Challenge

I got the idea for this challenge from the great bio on Cerutty called, Why Die? The Extraordinary Percy Cerutty Maker of Champions by Graem Sims.
I quote: "It had become his annual test to run a mile each birthday, on January 10. In 1965, on his seventieth, he had completed the distance in 6 minutes, 36 seconds. It became his plan to run under seven minutes throughout his seventies, then under eight during his eighties. In 1967, at 72, his time was 6:56."
We know that  challenging yourself is essential for those of us who seek excellence.
 I like this one and plan on doing it, but, I don't know if I'll be hitting 6:36 this August 21 when I turn 70 (a very young seventy I may add thanks to a life of running).
Then again, it's five months away.
Give it a try.

Checklist For Success

 What follows are a few of the attributes that Percy Cerutty believes are essential to achieve success. I believe he wrote the following in regards to athletic success, but, it's easy to see how they could be applied to any type of endeavor.

"1.Imagination.

2.Finding the way and means.

3.Self-discipline.

4.Concentration on task.

5.Persistence.

6.Faith in oneself.

7.The quality of 'rather die than give in or be ultimately beaten.'

8.The recognition, until one's goals are achieved, that one cannot serve two masters, that one goal must, and does, take precedence over the other.

9.The recognition, as we overcome so we strengthen to overcome better, and as we weaken in our resolves, so we become weaker and less capable of worthwhile achievement.

10.Total commitment to your goal."



Hard to find fault with the above.#6, like #5, is something that comes up frequently in these types of lists. For a lot of people, faith in oneself is the forgotten key to achieving your goal. Why can't you be the 'guy'? What don't you have that someone else has? Quite often the only thing the other person has that you don't have is confidence. Many of us need to change our way of thinking.

#2.Looking into the right program that will get you where you want to be as opposed to following a generic, one size fits all program is essential. Adapting it (program) to your strengths and weaknesses is vital. This takes a motivated and thoughtful individual.