Obstacle Mud Runner - issue 09

obstaclemudrunner.co.uk ForEliteAtheletes toFunRunners 8 RACE : APPROACH moving goals Why do we move our goals? Thinking back over my time competing and coaching in OCR, and the other sports I’m involved in, goals have always played a big part in providing the focus to challenge my abilities in practice and in competition, and subsequently explore ways to improve for the next time. Performance versus my goals has always provided such points of diverse experience over the emotional rollercoaster goals ask us to ride. Some ecstatic highs when achieving what I might not have thought possible – and equally dramatic lows from the frustration of missing out. So where does this focus on goals come from? Sporting greats since records began always recall with incredible simplicity and clarity the goal they were pursuing. Bannister and the 4 minute mile. Graf and her 22 Grand Slam titles. Killan and the fastest ascent of Everest. These are just a few who had a focus on a goal that, coupled with an uncompromising drive to achieve, resulted in them performing in such a way that their goals became reality. Recalling the lessons I’ve learnt from peers, parents and trusted supporters, the same thing has always driven me. Breaking 70 gross on the golf course. Earning my first Trifecta. Hitting 37 miles at the inaugural Spartan Ultra World Championships in Iceland. That last one was an interesting experience, as the goal moved in the throws of the event, and may offer some answers. Like many, the draw of a 50-mile patch was quite alluring, and talk in the briefing beforehand was centred around that number. However, midway through the second lap, assessment of the conditions, the lap times we were running in them and where the team and I were feeling led us to recontract our goal to 30 miles plus one extra lap – 5 hours into running round a cold, windy, otherworldly Icelandic tundra, my amygdala kicked in This question was posed to me the other day by a fellow OCR racer, and really got me thinking about what is going on for me when we move our goals? Graham Roberts Performance Coach and Behavioural Change Consultant at Ispire Motivational Coaching Ltd, gives us an insight into a world. I think most of us can relate. motivational coaching Iceland