Trust Me On The Sunscreen*
Ladies and gentlemen about to start the 2018 track and field season
Wear sunscreen
If I could offer you only one tip for the future
Sunscreen would be it
The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists
Whereas the rest of my advice
Has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience
I will dispense this advice now
Enjoy the excitement and beauty of competition
Oh never-mind
You will not understand the excitement and beauty of competition until its no longer available
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself on the start line
And recall in a way you can’t grasp now how fast you could have run if you just took the risk to believe in yourself a little more
You-are-not-as-slow-as-you-imagine
Don’t worry about early season results of competitors
Or worry but know that worrying about external things is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum
The real troubles in your sprinting are all within your control
The kind that is fixable by working hard to improve your physicality, technical ability, and mental strength
Do one thing every day that you can take to the start line
Breathe in
Don’t be disrespectful with other people’s performances
Don’t put up with people who are disrespectful to yours
Breathe out
Don’t waste your time on what winning means
Sometimes you’ll execute well and others will just be better
Sometimes you will execute poorly and you will just be better
The season is long
And in the end, you will realise that the competition is actually about stepping on the start line despite your own inner doubts, insecurities, and fear
Remember the authentic, truthful, relevant advice you receive
Forget the throwaway, manipulative and disingenuous feedback
If you succeed in doing this, tell me how
Keep videos of your best performances
Do not go on message boards after the bad
Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you aren’t a World champion at 22
The most interesting people I know failed early and built their success out of that
Some of the most interesting people I know failed externally their whole career but won inwardly
Get plenty of sleep
Be kind to your rivals, you’ll miss them when they’re gone
Maybe you’ll run sub 10, maybe you won’t
Maybe you will win the Gold, maybe you won’t
Maybe you’ll come 4th a couple of times
Maybe you’ll do a celebration dance at the end of a winless career
Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either
Whatever happens in that space between the gun and the tape is half-chance, so are everybody else’s
Express your physicality fully
And through good mechanics as much as possible
Don’t let other people’s perceptions, fears and anxiety scare you
Trust in your body, you know more than anyone the great things it is capable of
Dream
But understand that outlier times take time to emerge
A sub 10 needs plenty of 10.0’s to support it, and even more 10.1’s
Do not look at result websites too much, they will only make you feel threatened
Get to know how hard it is for you parents on the sidelines
Watching is sometimes harder emotionally than competing
Be nice to your coach and training partners
They are your best chance of enjoying your work every day
And the people that will challenge and push you to your best
Understand that track is an individual sport
And It is hard to make genuine friends in such a competitive environment
So work hard to be open and supportive of others especially when they succeed because track karma is a bitch and you need all the help you can get
Train with heavy volume once
But leave before it makes you slow
Train with speed once
But leave before it makes you unfit
Trust
Accept certain inalienable truths
People will continue to get faster
People will break your records
You too will get old
And when you do you’ll fantasise that when you were young
Tracks were slower
And spikes weren’t as advanced
And young athletes respected older athletes
Respect older and retired athletes
Don’t ask or expect anyone else to take responsibility for you
Maybe you have federation support
Maybe you have a caring Coach or Therapist
But you alone are the one who will get defined by what you do on the race track
Don’t mess too much with your technique
Somehow, you innately know how to be fast
Be careful whose advice you buy
They may have run 9.95 or coached someone to run sub 11
But this sport relentlessly moves on and what worked for them may not work for you now
Their story doesn’t have to be yours, that is yours to define
But trust me on the sunscreen
*Adapted for T&F from original — https://youtu.be/sTJ7AzBIJoI
Steve Fudge is a professional Sprint Coach based at Lee Valley Athletics Center, London. He coaches elite sprinters, mentors Sports Coaches and provides consultancy services to professional sports people and staff. You can access his website here: https://stevefudge.co.uk/
