The London Olympics made me think back to past Olympics, specifically the 1972 marathon won by Frank Shorter of the US – yes an American really won the Olympic Marathon! It also reminded me of Jack Foster, a Londoner who had moved to New Zealand and also ran in that race. Here is his incredible story. May it be an inspiration for us to begin today doing those things we’ve always wanted to do, but never seem to get around to doing.
One day Jack Foster had enough. 32, married with a family and full-time job as a clerk, Foster, like so many of us, was out of shape and wanted to do something about it. He told his wife Belle one day that he was going out for a run. After what seemed like an eternity, he turned around and walked home. When Belle saw him in the house she said, “I thought you said you were going for a run.” Foster responded saying, “I did go for a run, why did you say that!” “Well you haven’t been gone 10 minutes, that’s all.” was her reply. Though hurting physically and emotionally, he didn’t quit. Over time it became easier and soon it became his joy.
By the time he was 37, he had burst on the scene as a world-class distance runner. I was very familiar with all the great distance runners at the time – Pre, Frank Shorter, Kenny Moore, Jim Ryun, and Dave Wottle from the US, Lasse Viren from Finland, Kip Keino from Kenya – but who was this old man from New Zealand? How could he suddenly appear? He placed 8th in 1972 Olympic Marathon at the age of 40! A year and half later he ran his personal best marathon of 2:11:38 (5:00 per mile!!!), setting the all-time record for those over 40. My old friend Steve Plasencia (current U of M Men’s CC & Track coach) couldn’t match it even being able to train full-time while sponsored by Nike. For Jack it was a joyful passion, done after his day job.
Jack died at 72 in a collision with a car while riding his racing bike. His story lives on as an example of what we can accomplish if we focus on starting today taking the first step toward our goals and not allowing our initial pain and lack of success deter us. Along the way we may find the journey a joyful pleasure!
On my home office desk I have a pewter block with the following quote, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” I see it every morning as I enter my office. It’s a reminder to challenge myself to have courage to strive to do the things that really matter to me and others, and to not worry about the outcome. If it’s right to do it, and I give it my best effort, the outcome will take care of itself.
So I challenge you – What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
Carpe Diem!!
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“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” – I too love this quote, because it tends to free us from the ultimate fear – failure – and lets our imagination run wild! I also like the idea of it ‘never being too late’…I was laid off my previous job of 16 years in April 2009. During a 600 mile drive home, my thoughts returned to previous visions of going back to school…I was after all, nearly 40 and I knew that it would be difficult. I also knew; however, in order to secure a decent future for myself – it was important that I take the situation seriously and after all, I reasoned with myself, “whether or not I went back – in 4 years – I would still be 43. So, in July 2009 – with my stomach in my throat – I started back. Today, at the beginning of my senior year, I have a 3.83 GPA and absolute confidence that I am able to finish strong, find a great career and live the life I was meant to live. I believe when we’re dealt with a setback and we’re able to handle it proactively and keep pushing forward – ‘failure’ stays where it belongs – in the dictionary.
Thank you for sharing your story Kris!! I will be spending four weeks discussing overcoming failure. We all will encounter failure, whether by our own making or, as in your case, life deals us an unexpected blow. How we deal with failure will really determine our future success. Every leadership author I’ve read discusses the importance of our attitude towards failure – do we stay down and not get back up, or do we get up dust off, and get back into the race.
You have just beautifully demostrated how to overcome failure!!
I really like this blog and how Jack demonstrates that its never to late to do what you really want it to do. Since the past years I want to be other person, feel different and look different. I always look at other girls and admire how beautiful they look with a beach body. I said to myself I will start to do some workout today and keep doing it, to help me get the body shape I want, but when I realize I am eating what I shouldnt and I am sitting in the couch watching T.V. I will take this story seriously and realize that its never to late to start doing what I have been dreaming to do in the past. Because I know I can do it without failing.
I don’t like the word failure. Failure to me means giving up. We may fail at certain things right away, but if we continue to work at them we never truely fail. Goals need to be realistic, we need to understand that if we have never run a marathon before we won’t be able to walk out of our house one day and do it. We need to set small goals in order to reach our true goal. I know where I want I want to be in 10 years and sure I’d like to be there now, but know there are many other steps I need to go through to get there. Baby Steps.
This a great blog and it makes me really realize that no matter what your age or situation is, you can always get into something a make the best of it. If I could attempt something knowing that I would not fail, I would probably attempt some of the sports I always wanted to do when I was younger. It was tough then, because we lived in a very small town in Wisconsin. These sports, dance, gymnastics, and ice skating, were not offered locally; in fact the nearest place they were located were about 30-40 minutes away in a nearby city. My parents took me to get information and find out when practice was offered. All of them turned out to be very early morning practices, and my parents both had jobs with many hours and weren’t able to fit it into their schedules. By the time we moved here and the opportunity to participate in those sports presented themselves, I was too afraid because most of the girls had been in them their whole lives. I didn’t want to suck and look like an idoit; it was hard enough being the new kid. At first it would be extremely hard, but it would be nice to give those a try like I always wanted to.
My dear wife, Long Suffering Holly, is starting to take up the violin Evan left behind when he left for Sao Paulo Brazil. You can do it Kari! Become that skater/dancer you’ve always wanted to be. You’ll find great support and you’ll find joy!!