Cerutty told
Elliott to be contemptuous of pain and thrust against it. There was no pat
training formula, no timetable routine. Cerutty aimed to fashion out of the raw
Elliott a resilient, superbly conditioned free spirit who would discipline
himself instinctively and soar above the common herd of racers by virtue of
superior strength and will power. Races would be won by instinct, not strategy.
It needed a man
of Cerutty's fiery, evangelical nature to tap Elliott's enormous resources and
bring them to the surface.
Elliot: You get
bloody sick of training but that's the time when you stick to it. That's when
one runner proves himself better than the others. Anyone can do it when he's
enthusiastic. It's when you stick to it that you show you're the superior man.
But once you start running it's O.K. You get a sensation of strain in your
muscles and sweat on your brow. It's a manly pleasure. The pain is something
real, especially now when you're not quite fit. Three or four times a week it
hurts so much that you're dying to stop. Your muscles are screaming but you
keep going. It's a matter of will power.
Elliot: I don't
try to hate them. It just happens that way. But the person you should really
hate is yourself. It's you that you've got to hurt. It's you who's got to take
the punishment.
Elliot: Why run
at all? I guess it's a way of expressing myself by going through pain. I aim to
keep myself fit and to prove I'm the better man. Doesn't everyone want to show
he's better than the next bloke at something?
Elliot: The
main thing about Perce is that he coaches your spirit. This is the key to
championship running. The body itself may need only two months' training to get
fit; the rest of the time you're building up your spirit—call it guts, or some
inner force—so that it will go to work for you in a race without your even
thinking about it.
Elliot: He is
more impetuous and excitable than I am. Percy talks all the time. He nearly
drives us crazy, saying the same things over and over until you get damned sick
of it. But when he's not here we miss the old beggar. I could train and run on
my own but I like to have him around to talk things over.
Elliot: Percy
claims a lot more than he should get credit for. He makes it sound as if you'd
be a drunkard and no good as a runner if it weren't for him. It sometimes gets
your back up and you feel like putting him in his place. But, all in all, he's
a wonderful bloke.
Elliot: I like
to vary my training venues day by day, running on a golf course one day, the
next day in a park, then on a racecourse, up and down the hills flanking the
Shrine in Melbourne, along the Yarra River and even over cow paddocks. The
change of scenery, the music of the birds and the sight of grazing cattle and
sheep is soul-freeing and makes a training session real joy.
What do Elliott
and Cerutty tell me.
A good
relationship with a good coach will help me run faster. It is unlikely that will happen because
a good coach would quickly realise there are some things you can’t polish.
For me running
is all about getting to know yourself and finding out what you are capable of.
Physical
ability is related to emotional, mental and social health.
Run free.
Unscripted. Vary training. Vary speed. Vary where I run. Cross country.
Fartlek. Intervals on the track.
Base training.
Weights. To add power to upper body.
Running up
hills to build up strength.
When races start to appear. Sprints. Speed work.
The harder I
train the easier I will race.
Eat healthy.
Rest hard and
relax hard. Train my mind.
Racing is a
test of training.
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