Click here to listen to my Thought for the Day on BBC Radio Ulster. Or listen to it below.
It’s one for all the runners out there, reflecting on a famous 1980 race between Ireland’s John Treacy and Britain’s Steve Ovett.
The text of today’s contribution is below:
John Treacy vs. Steve Ovett
Just days after winning gold in the 800m at the Mosco Olympics, Britain’s Steve Ovett ran into the home straight leading a 5000m race at London’s Crystal Palace. As the crowd cheered, Ovett waved and, approaching the finish line, raised his hands in triumph. At that moment, Ireland’s John Treacy charged by him, leaving a shocked Ovett in second place.
Legend has it that as Treacy left the stadium that night, he overheard a fan exclaim: ‘Treacy – of all people!’
John Treacy was already a world cross country champion, and would win a silver medal in the Olympic Marathon four years later. But no one – perhaps even Treacy himself – would have expected him to out-sprint a lightning quick 800m runner like Ovett.
Video clips of this race have been viewed millions of times online. The announcer sums it up: ‘Treacy has stolen it … and Steve has only got himself to blame!’
I’ve been a runner since I was 12-years-old. One of the first things my first coach ever told me was, ‘always run through the finish line – don’t let up.’ As Treacy’s victory over Ovett proved, even Olympic champions can make schoolboy errors.
And like the announcer, my first instinct is to blame Ovett. Watching his premature celebration, I find myself smugly concluding that I would never get caught out like that.
But that’s the wrong lesson to take away from this race. We shouldn’t be learning from what Ovett did wrong. We should be learning from what Treacy did right.
Treacy pushed toward that finish line like it was his last and only chance at it. He couldn’t be sure if he would win, but he could make sure he ran with all his might.
The writer of Ecclesiastes also observed: ‘the race is not always to the swift’. John Treacy proved him right.
In life, we are often presented with the choice to ease up, or keep giving our all. When those times come, I pray that I’ll follow in Treacy’s footsteps.