I need to change focus for Sunday.  Instead of focusing on my fears and doubts, I need to put my .energy towards belief, courage and confidence.


It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself.  ~ Mohammed Ali.

Bust portrait of Muhammad Ali, World Journal Tribune photo by Ira Rosenberg

Mohammed Ali is one of my heroes.  Right from a young age, he looked adversity in the face, stood up to it and said, "Yes I Can!".  Sometimes he said it quietly and sometimes with humour and flair.  He always said it with courage.

On a balmy October afternoon, in Louisville, Kentucky, 12 year old Cassius Clay, as he was then called,  rode his brand new bike to the Columbia Auditorium.  He parked it, went about his business, and, when he returned to ride home, the bike had been stolen.  Enraged, he sought out a policeman in the basement of the auditorium.  The officer happened to be Joe Martin who ran a boxing gym. He encouraged Clay to learn boxing in order to effectively get even with the thief.  If he was going to take him down, he might as well have a leg up on the other guy. Only six weeks later Clay won his first fight. 

I love this true story because Ali stands at the fork in the road and makes the more difficult choice.  At 12 he is able to postpone instant gratification, consider advice an adult gives him and take action.  He does something it has taken me most of my adult life to learn to do. 

Unlike many elite sportsmen, Ali has, throughout his career, acted with dignity and grace.  He has made bold decisions based on well-reasoned principles and he is still making them today. 

Most impressive was his decision, at the peak of his physical fitness, and the height of his boxing career to go to jail for refusing to fight in the Korean war.  He may have been a fighter, but he wasn't a thug.

He is still acting with courage and humour while living with parkinson's disease.  He may no longer be the world champion boxer, but he is living life with courage, one step at a time. 

So, on the eve of my biggest race yet (500 swim, 20k bike, 5k run), I take positive inspiration from one of the few remaining heroes in my adult life.  When on the course I will have faith.

Cheers!