YOU DROVE

This weekend has been a tough one for Eyad. I entered him in the Waikato Championships. The 100m freestyle, heats and finals on Saturday. The 50m fly and 50m freestyle heats and finals on Sunday. In two days, that’s six races. Nothing too tough about that, I hear you say. But Eyad is a student. He has to be careful with money and so he decided to drive down and back on Saturday and again on Sunday. He tells me the decision saved about $70.

From Eyad’s place to the Te Rapa pool is a 140k, one-and-a-half-hour drive. So now the weekend is six races and 560k and 6 hours of driving. In addition, there are three hours to fill in between the heats and finals. So now the weekend is six races, 560k and 6 hours of driving and 6 hours lying on the grass beside the Hamilton Lake. That’s a tough weekend.

But then I got to thinking. Is it really all that tough and is it all that different from the race and travel stories that have made New Zealand athletes respected around the world? Are these events truly a case of, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?

I remembered the trip Alison and I did by car from London to Zurich for a 1500m, to Berlin for a 1000m, to Cologne for an 800m and back to London for a day before Alison flew to Montreal for the 1500m World Cup final. In two weeks, that was 4 races, 3000k of driving and a two seven and a half hour flights. The races weren’t too bad either – a 1500m PB, a 1000m New Zealand record that 43 years later still ranks 2nd on the New Zealand all-time list, an 800m PB that 43 years later still ranks 7th on the New Zealand all-time list and a 5th place in the World Cup final.

Jane and I did a similar trip for swimming. In four weeks, we flew from New Zealand to Glasgow where, in two days, Jane swam three breaststroke races and a 100IM. Then on by plane to Malmo in Sweden for the same four races in two days. Then on to Amsterdam to pickup a campervan to drive to Paris for the same race schedule. Then on by road to a meet in Gelsenkirchen. Then on again by road to Imperia for the Italian stop. And finally, by road back to Amsterdam to catch the flight back to New Zealand. In four weeks, that was 20 races, 64 hours flying and 4000k and 40 hours of driving.

I’ve heard similar stories told by runners like Walker, Quax and Dixon. I can’t remember the details but there was an amazing story of John Walker being held up on a flight from Sweden to London and arriving at Heathrow something like an hour before his race. A mad dash across London and John arrived with a minute to spare. No time for a warmup. And so, John set off against runners like Ovett and Cram. He won the race. In the taxi on the way to the up-market and well-earned Selsdon Park Hotel he sighed and said, “Well that was close.”

I imagine Walsh, Adams and Willis have similar stories to tell. In fact, didn’t someone forget to enter Adams in the shot put at one of her Olympic Games? That was close too.  

I guess the question is, do these occasions make you a better athlete? I think they do. Hand holding is all well and good until it gets to the mollycoddling that goes on these days. A year after Alison’s European trip she was Scottish Cross Country Champion, UK Indoor 1500m Champion and a UK international. Were those events related? I think they were. A year after Jane’s trip she was a three times New Zealand Open Swimming Champion, two times New Zealand Open Record Holder and a New Zealand international. Were those events related? Again, I think the answer is yes. And a bit of “have shoes will travel” hasn’t hurt the careers of Walsh, Willis, Adams, Quax, Walker and Dixon.

And so yes it was a tough weekend for Eyad. However, he did swim three season best times. But more important he was following in the footsteps of some pretty good athletes who have walked those difficult paths before. Tough men and women win big races not babies who can’t do without their coach for ten minutes. Well done, Eyad. I hope today’s recovery swim has gone well – especially as you did it on your own – lol.   

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