The late Noel Carroll, Olympian and a key influence in organising the inaugural Dublin Marathon, contributed a series of Training Tips to Irish Runner Magazine that are still worth sharing…
“To succeed you have to be totally realistic about what you can do, then stretch yourself slightly beyond that realism. The words are those of Chris Bonnington who at over 50 years of age climbed Mount Everest. Bonnington’s greatest success had not been climbing the highest and most difficult mountains in the world. It had simply been staying alive.
The key words in Bonnington’s advice are “realistic” and “slightly”. When applied to a runner they present a key to meaningful progress. In the case of a mountaineer a failure to be realistic or an overextension of their limit can mean death.
For a runner to get it wrong does not of course mean disaster but it can mean frustration and disappointment at best and injury and setback at worst.
Asking a runner to be realistic is not as easy as it seems. We all tend to set ambitious goals and this is how it should be. Bul realism is about the here and now. It’s about your ability today. Not what you did last year or what you hope to do next year. Realism is about the burdens we carry on a particular run- the tensions, the pressures, the tiredness and the conditions.
Most injuries and breakdowns occur when a runner, on reflection, knows he or she has pushed it beyond breaking point. It’s the same with runners starting out with loads of ambition and little condition.
The requirement to be realistic applies to all runners and so does the need to push only slightly beyond that realism. The nature of human beings is that they will adapt to added pressures over a period of time- provided the pressures are gradual and sustained. You will complete the journey if the pace of progress is right.
Above all, however, it’ about the right starting point. You simply have to get that right. You may not fall down the mountain if you get it wrong but you certainly won’t get to the top if you don’t get it right.”
