{"id":36360,"date":"2019-08-25T13:12:59","date_gmt":"2019-08-25T05:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runnerstribe.com\/?p=36360"},"modified":"2025-01-14T10:21:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T02:21:23","slug":"why-the-running-community-should-get-behind-the-paralympic-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runnerstribe.com\/a-column-by-jaryd-clifford\/why-the-running-community-should-get-behind-the-paralympic-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the running community should get behind the Paralympic Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Jaryd Clifford – (c) Runner’s Tribe<\/p>\n

Everyone knows David Rudisha, but only some people know James Turner. This is a loss for the Australian running community. Let me tell you why.<\/b><\/p>\n

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Tuner wins on day 10 of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games at on September 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the 2016 Paralympic Games, twenty-year-old James Turner dominated the T36 800m, a race for athletes with cerebral palsy. He led from gun to tape, leaving his rivals for dead in one of the gutsiest performances I have ever witnessed. In my opinion, it is one of the greatest races in Australian history. But have you seen it?<\/span><\/p>\n

If you do watch it, take particular notice of the moments after Turner crosses the finish line. Exhausted, he collapses to the ground, his body contorting. In front of the world, he is experiencing a psychogenic stress reaction, something which occurs when the body has suffered an immense physiological or emotional strain. In the year prior, he had failed to finish a single race without incurring this reaction, and yet even with the knowledge of this inevitable pain, he was not afraid. In fact, he relished it. His time of 2:02.39 shattered the world record by three-seconds, earning him the gold medal.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What was the most challenging aspect of working towards my dream? Good question, the answer is long and requires context. I grew up with a twin sister, Hayley. She was better than me at everything except having confidence. I hate to admit it, but I was jealous. I was supremely envious of Hayley for being superior to me in everything I did, with what seemed like little effort. So, I promised myself when I was 5 that I would one day be the best in the world at something, I would have one thing where I was the one on top, and then I wouldn’t feel so useless. How could anyone who is the best in the world feel useless? As I grew up I realised that my dream would probably never come true, not for someone like me but the promise I made kept me going. Seemingly out of the blue I was handed the opportunity to fulfill my promise that I made all those years ago, the promise that stopped me from giving up, and I did it. All that, that was the easy part. The promise was my purpose to live, it gave me hope that I would one day be “truely happy” and now it was gone. The time between Rio and the London world championships was probably the hardest time in my life. I felt useless and unhappy, and how can someone who’s the best in the world feel useless and unhappy? I lost all hope. I developed unhealthy and self destructive habits. I almost didn’t get through it. I now promise myself that I’ll always have a new dream, and that it’ll be one I have no right to achieve. That way, I’ll always have a reason to keep going. TLDR: Finding a new dream was the hardest aspect of working towards my dream #keepchasingthedream #WorkingForWorlds2019 #TrekToTokyo #NeverGiveUp<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by James Turner<\/a> (@jimmy_t36) on