I’ve just got back from one of the most EPIC experiences of my whole entire life – the Paris Paralympics. It was such a special event and there is nothing that comes close to being able to watch friends, acquaintances and even strangers achieve the dreams you know they’ve worked so hard to achieve. While watching the Olympics is a really exciting time for most people I’ve spoken to, there seems to be something extra special about the Paralympics, a certain resilience and then an emotional openness about how hard people work and how much it means to achieve the medal.
And so I thought I would take a little time to reflect on some of the moments I was privileged to be a part of during my brief stay in France, in the hope that you too can be inspired by them and take a little pinch of the warm and fuzzies home from this blog with you…
1. Determination and Spirit: The Story of Frederick Assor and Rudolf Mensah
Lining up in the tandem 4k pursuit was Frederick Assor of Ghana, with his pilot, Rudolf Mensah. The pair lined up on one side of the track with their jazzy national colours paintwork bike , some white tape wrapped drop handlebars and a couple of road helmets. Opposite, on the finishing straight were the Aussies, resplendent in gold and astride an aero tested carbon machine, shiny aero helmets, showing nothing but intimidating prowess to their competition. The race began and very quickly the Australian duo caught Frederick and Rudolf and continued on around the track at a leisurely pace (likely owing to the fact their “A race” was the kilo and this really was a training exercise for many of the teams). The African team however continued on, putting all their efforts into completing the distance, despite having none of the resources to hand that all the other nations did. They also had the 1k event in their sights a few days later but we could all see that this for them was about leaving nothing in the tank and really giving the event their best shot, even if it meant finishing last in the table.
I couldn’t help but think about the parallels between this race and our own races in sport and in life. There will always be someone who has had more investment than you, whether it be from themselves, their genetics or their support network. But that doesn’t mean you are not capable of achieving something important to YOU. What’s vital, is ensuring your goals are important to you, that you draw your own definition of success, that you’re not distracted by what success means to others and you don’t let the capabilities and circumstances of others dictate what you aim for – because sometimes that just isn’t realistic. It doesn’t mean it’s impossible, it just means you need to accept the differences between you and everyone else and work out what you want from where you are now and in the future.
Massive well done to Ghana for showing up, getting the job done and having an absolute blast while you were there! It was entirely my privilege to watch you.
2. The Power of Process: Daphne Schrager’s Approach
Post-racing, the woman we’d all turned out to see gave us her take on what had got her where she was, with a new World Record and a Silver Medal round her neck after the women’s C1-3 3k individual pursuit. She focused on the importance of having a goal and then a process and more importantly, just following that process. She had goals and aims and dreams and putting a framework in place and simply ticking it off, was what got her to where she is now. And it hasn’t all been plain-sailing for Daphne, after a horrific crash at the world championships almost exactly a year ago in Glasgow, where there was no certainty about whether she’d make it back onto her bike again, let alone onto a world stage like this. But again, there was a process and a plan made and it was executed. And there we all were, crying and laughing with her, watching her walk away with something she’d always dreamed of as a child.
Sometimes it’s easy to think “this isn’t working” when actually, we either haven’t put sustainable strategy in place or we simply aren’t doing what we said we would do. Again, in sport and in life, making a plan and then executing it is the obvious thing that separates failure from success and yet so few of us are willing to acknowledge that. Olympic and Paralympic cycles are four years long. That’s a long time to stay focused on a goal. And for people like Daphne, it begins long before that with a childhood dream and it takes YEARS for that to even become a tangible possibility. So when you’re dropping into my DMs telling me the process isn’t working after a few days or weeks, or that there’s been a stumbling block you can’t possibly recover from, savour this story.
3. The Importance of Support Networks
As we watched on in the medal ceremonies as the day came to a close, friends and I turned to one another and all thought exactly the same thing; it wasn’t just the racing we were there to be a part of, it was the “moments”. Watching athletes head straight toward the cheers and tears of family and friends who had been there with them through thick and thin and who were a small part of that medal just as much as those athletes were. Watching people who had tried and failed before, or those who had never had a shot at this kind of success before, break down and be so raw in their human emotion and to want nothing more in that moment than a hug from mum, dad, husband, wife, girlfriend, baby, boyfriend, sister, brother or friend. Thos were the real moments of joy and emotion for us too, even when it was total strangers. Nations supporting other nations including their own, strangers supporting other strangers, but most importantly, closer networks supporting athletes.
We all need a support network and that can look like any manner of different crowds of people. It could be your family, your friends, your gym buddies, your coaches, your co-workers. Whatever it is you’re trying to achieve, doing it with people behind you is so, so important. One of the greatest things I’ve discovered for myself in the last few years is a network of cheerleaders who really do care about my success as well as theirs and we all do that for each other.
Be the person that has their own goals and dreams, who makes time to make a plan and a big scary goal but also supports others to do the same. Because there is nothing like cheering someone else on and celebrating their success to drive you on and feel good about your own too. We’re all at different points in our journeys, going to different destinations, seeing different landmarks along the way, so just find the people that respect that and want to be a part of it for no other reason than their own warm and fuzzy tummies!
Bringing It All Together
So what’s it all got to do with my own work and philosophies? Well to me, it’s obvious. I believe in support, in planning, in goal-setting, in resilience. And I help my clients not just know what to eat, but how to build all those abilities and qualities for themselves too.
Sports nutrition for me isn’t just about food and drink and calories. It’s about what that all enables you to do. It’s about the adventures getting it right allows you to go on. It’s about celebrating adventure, good health, longevity and being able to participate in amazing moments like these ones for as long as you possibly can.