Talent is the key to high performance, or so you might think. I won a Bronze medal in the Olympic marathon, but I was definitely not one of the three most talented distance runners in the world. I was a talented runner compared to the average runner, but you don’t run against average runners in an Olympic final. Among that elite group of people I was not particularly talented. So how did I win a medal?
Most people believe our level of performance should be the same as our level of talent, assuming we have trained properly for our event. But have you ever had a bad day, a really bad day when you performed well below your level of talent? That straight line between talent and performance can be bent downwards by circumstances.
I believe that if you can bend it down on a bad day, you can also bend it up. I believe that on occasions you can create the circumstances in which you can perform at a higher level than your talent says you can. This is one of the beauties of sport. This is what makes the outcome of every event uncertain. This is what gives the underdog his hopes and dreams. This is why sport brings passion and excitement to our lives.
This book has taken a couple of decades to write. I have written it in the little bits of spare time I could find in the life of a husband and father, and the demands of work and running a business. I have written it for three reasons. Firstly, for the same reason I ran; to see if I could do it and try to reach that goal no matter how long it took. Secondly, I hope there is someone who may read something in my story which helps them in the same way that I improved, thanks to the help and advice of others. Last, but not least, I have enjoyed writing it; and I hope that somebody somewhere enjoys reading it.
The structure of this book has hardly changed from the first draft I wrote, but there have been many refinements to that original text. I would like to thank the people who helped me to make those changes and bring this project to its conclusion.
David Huntley, my brother-in-law, read the first draft. Thanks to his input I produced a second version, which I showed to Tom Knight, former Athletics correspondent of the Daily Telegraph and John Bryant, author of several books including The Marathon Makers. Both Tom and John helped me, not only with their experience, but also their encouragement and enthusiasm.
Last, but certainly not least, I thank my wife, Christina, who worked tirelessly as my editor. If you discover a split infinitive, please don’t tell her.