Have you heard of a man called Cliff Young?
No? Gather round.
Once upon a time there was a man called Cliff Young.
He was born in 1922 in Australia. He grew up on his parents sheep farm and the best way to herd the sheep, according to Cliff, was to…um..run after them by foot.
He gave up sheep (the farming of them that is) in his adult years and became a potato farmer instead. But him being a potato farmer really has nothing to do with this part of his story.
Where was I?
Oh yes.
Fast forward to 1983, while the rest of the world was shimmying along to Billy Jean or stomping it to Beat It by Micheal Jackson, Cliff, now 61 years of age, entered himself into a marathon. Not the usual 26 miles, easy-peasy-squeezy marathon. No, he decided on the (now defunct) Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra-marathon, a mere 544 miles (875 kilometers).
He trailed at first.
Lagged behind the main runners.
But here’s where it becomes a story of awesome…
Instead of sleeping during the first and second night of the race, like every other runner did, he kept on running.
Not stopping.
He won the race by a 10 hour lead.
It doesn’t end there.
He completed the race in 5 days, 15 hours and four minutes. Knocking 2 days of the fastest record held.
Why?
Well. The first time I heard this story that answer was ‘he didn’t know he had to sleep’. Further digging I read that he said, ‘As a young sheep farmer it wasn’t unusual for me to run for 2/3 days at time straight.’
He didn’t do what everyone else was doing.
Whether he did or didn’t know about the sleeping arrangements is irrelevant really.
He just didn’t follow the crowd.
Go with the herd.
Do what was expected.
He ran in his own unique way.
Not for one second do I believe life is a race. Meh. But I do think it’s about stepping out and away (if needed, required, wanted) from the herd in order to just get on, hit your own darned ground, and get busy on running with your own thing.
No looking over the shoulder.
No comparing.
No wondering what the hell everyone else is up to.
Get it?
Excellent.
Task: For today. Just today. Only one little day. Or a day soon when Cliff Young pops into your head. No looking over your shoulder. No glancing at what others are up to. No comparing. No ‘wanna be like’. Today, stay on your own ground.
Leave a Reply