The Man in the Arena

I got an email from the race organisers yesterday, with training tips and the news that it will be televised. It's beginning to dawn on me what I'm actually taking on - 10 miles suddenly seems like a long way. I felt a mixture of excitement and worry, followed by determination to increase my training efforts.

Thats how I try to approach things, I always work best with a deadline to achieve and when I'm determined to do something, I will. I thought back to a speech that one of my previous american football coaches gave us before a big game. It was from a speech by Theodore Roosevelt and its one of the most inspirational things I've ever read. See what you think:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Thats why I will be lining up for the BUPA Great South Run on Sunday 26th October 2008.