Ha, welcome to the question every lad or lass who has ever played sports asks when the end comes.
Not too many weighing themselves like that, and not really even in a team. It’s a lonely sport. I watched her right in front of me at the UK champs. She seemed a nice lady.
The life of an athlete is a lonely one. Team sport can give you a bubble and a shared goal. The solo sportspersons slog is ferocious and requires relentless drive and commitment, and in truth, for very little outside you own sense of achievement for 99% of them.
And then you go home, and nobodygives a fcuk.
Yep, and nor should they, after all, you’re only doing it for yourself.
I dunno. Representing your country at the Olympics is something that should carry over a lot more imho.
It should, but if you’re doing it for “de peeple” you’ll be sorely disappointed, they only want to know you in this country if you’ve pulled in silverware, and even at that, they’ll be quick to cut the back off you.
Liz McColgan husband has died. He was also an Olympian - 5000m in 1996
What if you’re doing it to inspire a nation.
Is it not a comfort to know that even when you’ve lost, you’ve won? When that final whistle blows and everything you’ve trained for is gone, would it not lift your spirits knowing that on Monday at the watercooler Aine will say “he did fierce well”.
I attended the National Senior Cross Country Champs yesterday as a spectator. Course was very tough and a mucky quagmire in parts. Was mad to see lads like Brian Fay and Daragh McIlhenny struggling in the conditions with unheralded lads well in front of them.
Nick Griggs was going for his 3rd u20 title in a row and is only 18. He had pulled out a good lead about 800m from the end. As he approached us, coming up a big mucky hill, he stumbled and fell. He went to get up but just didn’t seem to have it in him. He just lay there. He was helped to the side by some spectators as the whole race went by him. Nearby spectators seemed to cover him with their coats and someone ran off to get him a bottle of Lucozade. He must have been lying there for 20 mins before the order of Malta lads eventually appeared. It was on the paper that he was in the medical tent for about an hour afterwards. It was all a bit bizarre. The lad is probably the brightest prospect we’ve had in years. You’d have liked to have seen him looked after better.
Cross country running in muddy conditions is savage hard. I ran a few as a young lad and to this day if I’ve to face something hard I’d mentally remind myself it’s not going to be as hard as any cc race.
2 lads from our club ran it. They’d be what you’d describe as proper tough men. Love hardship. Both described it as one of the toughest set of conditions they’ve ever ran in. Seems sections of it were just pure mudbaths.
And that’s 2 fairly high profile collapses Nick Griggs has had in cross country races now. You’d hope it’s just sheer bad luck and not something else
I thought initially it was a bit of a mantal barrier he hadn’t got over but a few other spectators said he had been looking deathly pale not long before stumbling
Reclaiming her are ye?
1970 NCAAA cross country final.
Steve Prefontaine unsurprisingly the winner. In the Villanova top, and finishing second, was Cork’s Donie Walsh
