|
Cliff Young an unlikely hero 1 Considered one of the toughest marathon events in the world the 875-kilometer annual Australian race a route from Sydney to Melbourne is a harsh test of endurance for the world's top athletes regardless of their age. The young super-fit runners train for months before a competition and are under contract to prominent sponsors like Nike and Adidas who finance them and furnish them with a substantial support mechanism of money and equipment. The contest takes up to seven days to complete and is a challenging test of fitness and strength even for world-class athletes who compete for distinction and a cash prize. 2 On the day of the race in 1983 Cliff Young a toothless 61-year-old farmer and amateur runner wearing rubber boots and much older than the other runners was in attendance. No one paid any attention to this odd-looking man who might as well have been invisible. The assembled crowd assumed Cliff was there to observe the race. When he asserted his intention to compete the world-class athletes around him reacted with apparent disbelief and then with disrespect. Obviously this was some sort of publicity trick. 3 But the press was curious so as he took his number and moved into the crush of runners in their special expensive racing gear the camera focused on him and the assembled reporters shouted question after question at Cliff. They asked: "Who are you?" "What are you doing?" 4 "I'm Cliff Young. I'm from a large farm where we raise sheep outside of Melbourne." 5 They went on "What makes you think you can run this race? It takes a week to run this race on no more than six hours of sleep a night!" 6 Cliff replied "I've run sheep for two or three days at a time. This race should only be a couple more days than that. I believe I can do it." 7 Soon the marathon started and the young athletes left Cliff far behind. The crowds smiled and some laughed out loud because he didn't even run properly. He had the strangest running style; he appeared to shuffle. As the race progressed along of course the attention of the sports commentators and viewers alike was on the athletes at the front of the pack. Imagine everyone's surprise the next morning when the news showed Cliff was still in the race! Not only that but he had run through the entire night without sleeping. And it seemed that he intended to keep running until he reached the finish line or fell ill or was injured as many viewers now began to fear. They were uneasy and very concerned for his welfare. Many people said and even more people thought: "Surely someone should stop this insane old man before he really harms himself!" 8 But Cliff had no intention of stopping. Although he was still far behind the world-class athletes he kept at it. When he got to a major town he was asked about his plan for the rest of the race. He said he would just keep running and he did. With every passing hour and every shuffling step he got just a little bit closer to the race leaders. Later he told people that throughout the race he kept focused by imagining he was gathering his sheep and trying to outrun a storm. 9 By the fifth night he had overtaken them all. By the sixth day he led the whole pack of runners by a wide lead. He led all the way to the finish line smashing the record by finishing the 875-kilometer race in 5 days 15 hours and 4 minutes 9 hours faster than anyone before! In that instant Cliff Young became a beloved national hero. 10 When Cliff was awarded the first prize of $10000 he said he didn't know there was a prize and insisted that he had not entered for the money. He said "There're five other runners still out there doing it tougher than me" and he gave them $2000 each. He did not keep a single cent for himself. That act increased his fame and endeared him to all of Australia. 11 Cliff came to prominence again in 1997 at age 75 when he attempted to become the oldest man to run around Australia and raise money for homeless children. 12 For the rest of his life Cliff kept running. Over the years despite increasing age and physical challenges he participated in many races and won a number of them. It was said that Cliff Young never kept a single prize. People gave him watches because he never had one. He would thank them because he did not want to hurt their feelings but then gave them away to the first child he saw. He said "I don't need a watch. I know when it's daylight when it's dark and when I'm hungry." 13 His love for running never dimmed but in the year 2000 he suffered a mild stroke that ended his heroic running days. Cliff Young the running legend passed away on November 2 2003. He was 81. 14 To this day Cliff Young remains a magnificent reminder and brilliant example of how ordinary individuals can inherently achieve remarkable results. As the famous saying goes "Where there's a will there's a way!" With determination and preparation we can achieve distinction and be a brilliant example to others. Cliff Young, an unlikely hero 澳大利亚一年一度的悉尼至墨尔本的马拉松比赛全长875公里，被认为是世界上最艰难的马拉松赛事之一，对任何年龄段的世界顶尖运动员来说都是一项严酷的耐力考验。体能超好的年轻选手在赛前要进行数月的训练，而且还和像耐克和阿迪达斯这样著名的赞助商签约，这些赞助商通过强大的资金和装备支持机制为选手提供资助和装备。这项比赛历时七天，即使对那些为荣誉和奖金而赛的世界一流运动员来说，这项比赛也是对体能和力量的严峻考验。 1983年比赛那一天，克里夫·杨，一个牙齿已全部脱落的61岁的农民业余选手也来参加比赛。他脚穿橡胶靴，年龄也比其他选手大得多。没有人注意到这个外表古怪的老头，他就跟个隐身人差不多。聚集的人群以为克里夫只是来观看比赛的。当克里夫明确表示自己是来参赛的时候，他周围的世界级选手先是表示出明显的怀疑，继而予以鄙视。显然，人们认为这只是媒体的炒作而已。 但是媒体记者颇为好奇，所以当克里夫领好自己的参赛号码，走进配备昂贵的特殊装备的参赛选手队伍时，镜头对准了他，聚集的记者们向他抛来一个又一个问题。他们问：“你是谁？”“你来做什么？” “我是克里夫·杨。我来自墨尔本郊外的一个大农场，我们在那里养羊。” 他们接着问道：“你为什么认为自己有能力参加这项比赛？跑完全程要花一周的时间，而且每晚的睡眠不足六个小时。” 克里夫回答道：“我放羊时每一次都要跑上两三天。这项比赛只是需要再多花几天而已。我相信我可以做到。” 很快，马拉松比赛开始了，年轻的运动员把克里夫远远地甩在了后面。人们笑了，有些人还大声地笑，因为克里夫甚至连跑步的姿势都不正确。他跑步的样子怪极了，因为他似乎是在拖着脚走。随着比赛的进行，体育解说员和观众们的注意力都放到了那些领先的选手身上。想象一下第二天早上看到新闻报道说克里夫还在比赛的队伍里时，人们有多么惊奇！不仅如此，他还彻夜未眠，一直在跑。而且，看起来他决意要一直跑到终点，或一直跑到病倒或受伤为止，这正是许多观众现在开始担心的事情。他们变得不安起来，而且非常担心他的身心健康。许多人在说，甚至更多的人在想：“不用说，应该有人制止这疯狂的老头儿，免得他真的把自己弄伤！” 但是克里夫没有要停下的意思。虽然他仍然远远落后于那些世界顶级的选手，但他还一直坚持着。当他抵达一个大城镇时，有人问他对接下来的比赛有什么计划。他说他会继续跑下去，而且他也的确是这样做的。随着每一小时的流逝和迈出的每一次拖拖拉拉的步履，他一点一点地接近领先的选手们。事后，他告诉人们，整个比赛过程中他都很专注，他把自己想象成是在赶着羊群、努力与暴风雨抢时间。 到了第五天夜里，他追上了所有的选手。到了第六天，他把整个队伍甩开一大截。他一路领先，直到终点，以5天15小时4分钟跑完875公里的赛程，打破了纪录，比之前最快的选手还快了9个小时！在那一刻，克里夫·杨成为受人爱戴的民族英雄。 当克里夫得到一万元奖金时，他说他不知道比赛还有奖金，并坚持说他不是为了钱才参赛的。他说：“还没有到达终点的那五位选手，他们比我跑得更艰苦。”他给他们每人2,000元。他自己一分钱都没留。这一举动提高了他的声望，使他受到了所有澳大利亚人的爱戴。 克里夫在1997年75岁时又一次赢得了声望。当时他试图成为环澳大利亚长跑年龄最大的人，并为无家可归的孩子们筹集善款。 在他的余生里，克里夫一直坚持在跑。多年来，尽管年纪越来越大，身体状况也不如从前，但是他还是参加了许多比赛，并赢得了其中的多次比赛。据说克里夫从未为自己留下过任何奖品。因为他从没戴过表，所以人们就送他手表。他会感谢送他手表的人，因为他不想伤害他们的感情。但是随后，他就把表送给沿途上他看见的第一个孩子。他说：“我不需要手表。我知道什么时候是黑夜白天、什么时候是白天黑夜、什么时候肚子饿了。” 他对跑步运动的热爱从未衰减。但在2000年，他得了轻度中风，从而结束了他具有英雄色彩的跑步生涯。2003年11月2日，克里夫·杨这位长跑传奇人物与世长辞，享年81岁。 直到今天，克里夫·杨依然是一个伟大的标杆和辉煌的榜样。他向世人表明，普通人也能凭潜在的能力取得非凡的成就。有句名言说得好：“有志者，事竟成！”有坚定的决心和充分的准备，我们就能获得殊荣，也能成为别人的光辉榜样。 |
