Define: Impossible – Hard-work vs Talent

“I am still a firm believer in the role of talent over hard work, but that’s a topic for another day.” – Thulani Mafalala, 15 September 2017.

There is a simple reason why I have maintained that I cannot die for any belief, and that is – I always change my mind… On the day in question, I was beyond certain that there is nothing one can do to perform beyond one’s natural ability at anything. I thought that training and practice merely serve to enhance on naturally inherent talent. This was further reinforced by all the time I spent practicing my golf swing, all in vain. Moer! That even includes professional lessons. Despite all that effort, there was no improvement to be seen. And so, it got cemented in my mind that no matter how hard I can work at anything, I can never go beyond my natural ability.

I was very wrong!

It was only when I read a chapter called “The 10,000-hour rule” in Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers that it dawned on me. Anything is possible, if you put in the right amount of effort into it. Bear in mind that before this, I had made peace with the fact that I’m a sub-finisher and there is nothing I can do about it. It took a few confidence boosters to help me believe that it’s possible. Yet the turning point was when I missed my sub-4 dream by 45 seconds that I started realising there was more to me than I cared to believe. From that day onward, all my energy was focused on proving a point – Thulani Mafalala is capable of running a sub-4 marathon.

Indeed, the stakes were raised and the challenge was no lighter than when I first attempted this madness. For a while, I was never sure whether to celebrate how far I had come, or to wallow in the misery of a missed target. I have to admit though, that I drew a lot of strength from the newly earned respect and recognition I got from my peers in the running circles. Every time someone complimented my effort, I smiled inside, believing more in the dream. And so, I took on a mission to chase this #sub4 target once more at the 2018 edition of the Johnson Crane Hire Marathon. I scooped up every piece of advice I could get from those who had walked this path ahead of me. I tried everything with vigour, dedication and commitment. I even completely went haywire when I registered more than 300 kilometres of mostly solo running in December. I mean, who in their right mind runs that much in December?

On the morning of 28th January 2018, I lined up with thousands of other runners just outside the Willowmore Park Cricket Stadium in sleepy Benoni. Three hours, fifty minutes and eleven seconds later (03:50:11), new life breathed into me 🙂 I was finally a genuine #sub4 runner. No disputed seconds!

I learned a lot about myself in the process. I realised that, in running, race day results are always a reflection of training effort – except on the odd occasion where the misfortune of injury strikes. I also learned that, if you pay attention, there is always someone with the right advice to assist. You just need the ability to discern genuine assistance from the other “stuff“. And so, as I sit here writing this piece, beaming from ear to ear – I can’t stop wondering what this means for my life in general. So far, it means that if I can stop wasting precious time on things I am not genuinely interested in, but instead dedicate lots of time and effort into things I am passionate about – like writing – I would finally find a well of peace beyond comprehension.

I am still The Most Unlikely Runner I have ever known.