Cahal Carvill – No traffic on the extra mile

LAST Saturday morning involved arising at the crack of dawn, not to complete another dreaded gym rehab session or (more enjoyably) to watch the Rugby World Cup, but instead to ready the espresso in preparation for witnessing history being made.

Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan farmer who used to run to school in his bare feet, was attempting to become the first human in history to run the marathon in under two hours. If, like myself, you have endured the displeasure of completing a marathon circuit, what Kipchoge was attempting beggared belief and brought in to question what the human body was capable of achieving.

Yet on the picturesque streets of Vienna, roared on by thousands of supporters, all eager to witness history being made, the Kenyan running machine crossed the line in an implausible one hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds.

As he approached the finish line, the pacemakers who had helped him through to that point dropped off and, pointing to the crowd with a big smile on his face, Kipchoge basically sprinted across the line. This was a monumental feat and to give it some context, the Kenyan covered each kilometre of the 26.2 mile circuit within two minutes 50 seconds.

As Kipchoge crossed the finish line alone on the streets of the Austrian capital, I recalled the shouts from the top of the hill during Ulster Club Championship preparations, “There’s no traffic on the extra mile.”

Truer words were never spoken and for those teams lucky enough to still be meeting up for hard-hitting sessions on sodden turf at this time of year, they will know the feeling.

Almost 12 months to the day, I penned an article entitled “The Price of Success,” concluding that I would gladly pay the price that comes with being successful in order to keep playing at this time of year.

Twelve months on and little has changed, as I ready myself for another week of criss-crossing the country, seeking out training pitches under lights and pushing myself and my teammates to the limit. There is no better feeling in the world as the Autumn ambers begin to turn.

To do something that has never been done before, to achieve greatness for yourself and your club, you have to give that little bit extra, to push yourself to take that step outside of your comfort zone – expecting the highest standards of yourself and those around you in order to extract the best from the collective.

Neil Francis, the decorated sports journalist and former Irish Rugby international, recounted a story about Johnny Sexton on the last Lions tour to New Zealand and how on the field and in camp he fell out with a number of the English, Scottish and Welsh players. Seemingly irrelevant matters in terms of preparation and standards were latched upon by Sexton, losing it with anyone who attempted to let those standards slip in any way.

Of course such an abrasive approach to trivial matters in pursuit of perfection does not put you at the top of many people’s Christmas card list but it is sometimes a pre-requisite to finding yourself pulling on your boots as this time of year.

Kilcoo know it, Crossmaglen know it, Dunloy know it, and Cargin know it, and that’s why, at this time of year, more often than not in recent times, they sit on top of the pile.

In homage to last year’s piece, “Winners Only” now adorns the whiteboard in our club’s newly completed gym, as we push for glories only once dreamed of in a village nestled in a part of the country long forgotten.

To succeed with your family, your friends and your parish: there is no better feeling in this world. To embrace those vaunted highs and experience those unbearable lows – memories that last a lifetime. The sign this year reads, “Winners Only” and we now face up to the opportunity not only to achieve greatness, but immortality.

Very few people will know how it feels to pull on your club jersey to represent your people in an Ulster Club Championship; fewer still will know how it feels to sit atop the pile once the band finishes playing.

The greatest satisfaction you can experience as a player is waking up the morning after the night before, sometimes through a thick haze, and coming to the realisation that you are a county or provincial champion.

Kipchoge’s time will not go down as a world record based on a number of technicalities and will be recorded simply as a world’s best, but the sight of the Kenyan farmer crossing the finishing line on his own will remain a “Where were you?” moment, and at this time of the year, for those lucky enough to still be competing for county and provincial honours, don’t forget that though there may be no traffic on the extra mile.

What awaits you at the end of your journey is a memory that will never be forgotten, and though that extra mile may be the longest, it is well worth travelling every time.

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