Don't Let A No Exit Road Limit Your Journey

Andrea from Clarks Beach - Waiau Pa

For the past 16 years I have lived down a No Exit rural road.

Prior to this I lived on a suburban main road. There were 4 roads that criss crossed its path, meaning access was made possible dependant on the direction one approached it and the view differed depending which direction one travelled when they reached our home. As the letterboxes were close together you would look for a feature that stood out to gauge your distance to our home. As children, my sisters and I were competitive horse riders and athletes, our parents our supporters.

I discovered from an early age that running was my inherited passion. My grandfather had earned the title of Fastest Boy in Fiji and I had acquired his remarkable aptitude. He was able to show me through demonstrations the correct technique for running, and also share his experiences in athletics through storytelling. One story he imparted to me still stands true today. Each time you look over your shoulder to see where your competitors are, you get put off stride. Don't waste energy looking back, instead be satisfied with your progress looking forward towards the end, and know how many steps you need to reach the finish line. Look for variation on the route - where there is a hill, it is an opportunity to overtake another competitor who cannot sustain their stride. Train a longer distance everyday than required for the competition. It is better to be stronger than meet at the same level. Don't look at each day's training as being repetitive, instead look at each day's training as sustaining your fitness.

Never once have I stepped outside my No Exit property and thought I have been running the same direction for 16 years. No two days are the same and the focus of each run differs to how I ran the previous day.

If you have a passion and a knowledge for what you do, then you know, where there is a headwind, when you turn around it will drive you home. And that is the advantage of starting off in one direction only with a will to remain on track.

Andrea Smith
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