Team Athletics

Tonight I was privileged enough to be invited to talk to a group of young elite triathletes from Western Australia, heading over to Adelaide for the National Junior Triathlon Championships. Being asked to speak was quite humbling - I didnt know what they would expect to get from listening to a no-body talk about running, when running is only a third of what they do! 


But it was halfway through the presentation that it struck me how much I missed the team environment of running. Speaking with Cody Agnell, the American who is running The Running Centre, we got into a discussion about Nike Nationals and Footlocker Nationals (basically the two major competitions for USA high school runners) and their pro's and cons. And the major pro we found with Nike Nationals was this 'Team Title'

So what is it about a team?


Coming from a private boys school (Wesley College in South Perth) we competed week in/week out for the school in a team based competition. I took it for granted. For years, we didnt perform, finishing 6th or 7th in a 7 team competition. But then, in our final year, something happened. We recruited. We got some enthusiasm. And we may still have finished 6th overall. But, in the last two races of the season, the 5 man x 3km relay, and the 3 man x 5km relay - we won. No Wesley team had done that. Ever. In fact, it was the first time many of the guys in our team had tasted victory. And it was amazing.


To be able to share success with others in a VERY individual sport is a rare thing. I remember back to my last state junior team. We ended up finishing third out of the seven states in the 5 x 3km relay. Not one of us cared that four of the other teams didnt toe the line. We got there. We raced. We took it up to first and second. And I dare say, we would have finished third if Qld, Tas, ACT and NT had have started with us. 

My latest team moment was nothing to be super proud of, but none the less, it was a shared achievement between myself, Nath and Gerry - competing for The Running Centre in a corporate mile at the UWA Big 6 meet. We talked up the race for a couple of weeks....together. We warmed up....together. We ran...indiviually. But we won the race....together. And we warmed down together, and were all able to share in a success that usually is bestowed upon one person only.


So why write about this? What importance does it have?


I think that teams are looked past all too often. Coming from a state like WA - we never send a full team of 6 athletes to a Senior XC championships - and seeing the common Vic/NSW/Qld trifecta is as boring as hearing another story about Lara Bingle hitting on a sports star. It is in a way sad - whatever state I may reside in, I will ALWAYS wear the black and yellow singlet with pride. However, with the strength coming through in WA distance running, with thanks to coaches such as Paul Heywood, Marg Saunders and Ray Boyd, maybe, just MAYBE, I will be able to share in a success with another team.