butter for cross-country and athletics
and I want to cook up a couple of it but
I’m not fast I know this sounds weird to
say but please hear me out
long-distance running refers to foot
races ranging from 3,000 meters to 5,000
to 10,000 all the way up to the bear I
started running you could say in third
grade when I was aged 8 I ran my first
ever 5k a 5k would be around 12 and a
half laps and on the track I continued
to run after that first 5k because I
enjoyed it I genuinely did running to me
now has become a metaphor for life as
weird as this sounds it taught me that
there is no such thing as perfection
there is only improvement since my first
5 kilometer race aged 8 I’ve grown more
and more fond of long-distance running
my desire to become a better runner
increased I want to become faster and
faster and in middle school running
really started to feel like it was my
craft something that I would evolve for
as long as I can perhaps I love long
distance running so much because of the
immense feeling of pride I was so proud
to say that I ran a six-minute mile in
sixth grade what do you think of that
that is fast or at least that’s what I
thought in the summer of eighth grade I
aspired to run it under 20 minute 5k
that is so fast or at least that’s what
I thought why am i repeating the phrase
that’s what I thought well I was wrong
it’s a 5k in under 20 minutes really
fast relative to whom that is why I
stand in front of you here today to
discuss the limits of the personal
experience for from an athletic
perspective
that’s me this is the photo of a 2014
for City cross-country team when I was
still a little freshman I participated
in cross-country ever since my freshman
and sophomore year I had the privilege
of running with one of my best and
dearest friends earnest Beth the fourth
nicknamed EB he’s the guy with the
flaming red hair on the right
amazing him I had the privilege because
he taught me so many things he was such
an amazing runner man that surface’
gist’s and one of the fastest as well he
would zoom around the track so fast
while the entire other team the entire
team would be 200 even 300 meters behind
him and all of the workouts his speed
also showed it as races his August 5k
times for the races around this campus
were entire minutes faster than the
second person on the team his times were
truly sensational and he was truly a
great runner for jiss at I Asus
cross-country 2014 he won the individual
5k race at 16 minutes and 51 seconds one
of the fastest times in history this was
truly an amazing time that same year and
I asked his track he won the 3,000 meter
re-asses track field in Singapore with a
time of 9 minutes and 17 seconds
he beat the I Asus record and that
record still stands today
EB was a huge inspiration to me and
shaped many of my own running endeavors
whether it’s his running his persona
everything he was truly a great person I
thought that if I was going to be better
than EB I would really be at the top I
would win all of the racism be one of
the fastest kids in the world that’s
what I wanted to do but now I realize I
had this oblivious perception of the
limits of what a high school runner can
do or really lack thereof until one
summer my perception changed in the
summer of 2016 after sophomore year I
traveled to the United States for the
very first time to participate in the
camp called T Fred USA it’s an elite
running camp but why is it an elite
running hammock
well it is an elite running camp because
of the application process I just made
three letters of recommendation from
both of my teachers and coaches about my
level of motivation and my running and
also I had to send all of my best to
times and all of my races I was really
really happy I got in but a little
surprised that I was one of the slowest
guys there if not the slowest in the
United States I wasn’t really
disappointed I was just surprised if
anything I felt motivated to be just
like them the track the camp lasted
about 20 days for me but after the
seventh day I was already so tired we
ran around twice a day and it was really
the people that I met over there it
changed my perception of running there
were people that didn’t even win in
their own respective conferences but are
already much faster than the fastest
person I do in Southeast Asia
EB taratata for example he has a 15
minute and two second three mile which
is around a four point eight K so around
5k and in my vision I was so amazed by
this time when he said this to me I was
like wow house this house is possible
this is amazing this is almost two
minutes faster than eby’s personal 5k
record but what was even more amazing
was a freshman that I met at that camp
his name was Caleb flutter and his time
for the 5k personal best was 16 minutes
sightings but the kicker is that he was
only a freshman at that time 14 year old
14 years old not 17 so he had three more
years to go to improve his personal best
that I heard were simply mind-blowing
they were amazing after this experience
there was this whole paradigm shift
again in what I thought about the limits
of a high school long distance athlete
work drew hunter is an athlete from
Virginia a 2016 graduate who ran at the
NFHS conference at the camel elite city
needs running the 3,000 meter race he
won that race with a time of 7 minutes
and 59 seconds he beat the NFA to US
record with that time 7 minutes and 59
seconds this is almost 2 minutes faster
than eby’s 3k record a race that is
actually not the longest race in long
distance running as I said as it can go
up all the way up to the marathon but
let’s look at this visually what does
this look like this time difference well
the blue Runner is Drew and the green
runners EB now let’s look at them both
running side-by-side as if they ran that
so when Drew finishes his race he be
still had an entire lap to go
EB essentially got lapped in a race of
only 3,000 meters as afro mentioned of
short long distance race in the realm of
long distance running a 3,000 meter race
is one that encompasses strength and
speed and not really pure endurance like
a marathon would one would ask well why
is it that these two times are so
different why is it that Drew has a 759
and why is it the EB as a 917 well on
the surface wanted to say well drew you
know he’s a faster runner and she’s more
talented he has more physical ability
which it’s true but there’s more to that
answer the question of how do I become a
better runner has infinite variables
it’s the sleeping the running itself of
course the diet your relationship with
your coach the teammates all of those
factors yield a superior athlete but
what is the root reasons what are the
root reasons to why the difference is in
these two competitive pools one in
Southeast Asia and one in the United
States the first main reason to do the
difference in the competitive pools is
the training schedule and I asked the
schools the training is treated as an
extracurricular activity that is done
after school on the contrary the
American athletes that I was talking to
train twice a day not once a day like me
do the implication of this is also that
they have this running class instead of
maybe math class for example so Tanner
he can be in running class in first
period while his classmate for example
is in math this is simply unheard of a
diocese schools and I asked the schools
we do our academics and then after
school we do our training
in the u.s. running culture there’s that
integration between sports and academics
that simply delves more into the
development of the athlete the second
main reason is the coaches to be
specific the requirements of the coaches
the American athletes grouse talking to
have coaches that require running logs
from them what is a running log it’s a
book that has all of your time – all of
your races of all of your personal bests
and everything you did everything and
running you did with your coach with
your teammates everything and that
running log is turned in on a Sunday to
the coach for them to evaluate to read
and then give feedback to that athlete
this is not something that is in Iowa
schools and there’s again that
integration between the sports and
academics because this report card is
the running log for these athletes the
running log acts as a report card like
like their grade or something and it
truly motivates them to do better as
they’re constantly reflecting on their
own times the third and final reason –
why is too competitive pools are so
different
it’s seasons the u.s. athletes simply
train year-round the first season they
have is a cross-country season the
second season they have is the indoor
track season and then they have the
outdoor track season for the iesson
schools there is no long-distance
running season between the end of
cross-country and the beginning of
outdoor track so one could say that
because they always keep training these
American athletes even during the
long-distance training season of that is
the indoor track they keep on improving
with the guidance of a
whereas I asked as athletes although
they made you offseason training it is
that lack of the guidance from the coach
that perhaps causes their ability or
could even deteriorate their duty so
while the US athletes might be in long
distance season that is indoor track the
IOC’s athletes might be doing their
offseason or not even training at all
due to their academic requirements what
is the implication of this entire
difference in the competitive pools why
am I talking about this one must always
learn that there is something more
something more to strive for something
beyond your local experience bone in the
words of Steve Jobs stay hungry stay
foolish you should never be satisfied
with what you’ve achieved sure you might
be the fastest in your own region but
are you really on the top what you
always know that there are better
calipers to work towards whether you are
a musician whether you are a teacher an
investor or an athlete know that there
is always something better humans have
the innate belief that we are better
than we actually are that we are always
at our limit or even have one this is
called the dunning-kruger effect a
cognitive bias in which we think that we
are better than we actually are
with that being said I encourage you I
urge you to look at the possibilities of
your abilities go explore different
places where you might not be the best
one there and where improvement will
foster expand your limits expand your
personal experience but there is always
something better to strive for it thank
you [Applause]