What It Takes

Many who watch the Olympics (including myself) will turn on their televisions and be inspired in various ways over the course of these next three weeks. Sports will take on an entirely new meaning and seeing will truly turn into believing, as many “wow” moments will take place each and every hour of every day of competition.  I have been able to sit down just for a few hours these last couple of days and become enthralled with road cycling, swimming, beach volleyball and women’s gymnastics, and watch as if I have played these sports and know these competitors personally. I have never played or excelled at any of the sports I just listed, but the Olympics has that magic that makes one feel connected to something so far away from the realm of possibility that the feeling of Christmas or a birthday can be multiplied exponentially when a member of Team USA succeeds.

NBC spotlights so many different athletes during the Olympics, giving us some insight on training, their personal lives and their team in Rio. Watching, reading articles and listening to interviews can only do so much into allowing that mirage between a normal person and an elite athlete to occur. I consider myself to be an elite runner, but when I watch these Olympic sports, even I wonder what these athletes have done to get to this ultimate level in their respective sports. Bridging the gap between this so-called unknown is what drives me every day. Simplifying the process of success is quite difficult, and understanding what it takes to be "elite" is still daunting and confusing--even to someone like myself. When the goal so much larger than yourself, it is often hard to fathom what it really takes to achieve it.

So, I challenge you and remind myself as we watch these 31^st Olympic Games in Rio, to remember the sacrifice of time, talent and treasure these spectacular athletes have taken to reach this point in their career that is a window so small one would do anything to make it last forever. The good news is, no one can ever take away the accomplishment of qualifying for the Olympic Games--no matter how they fare in competition.

I continue to delve into my own mind, and strive to find ways to push my body to find what it takes for me—Matt Elliott—to be what I need (and want) to be as an athlete. Looking back on my past, I hope for a future that exceeds my expectations in ways I cannot even imagine. Onwards and Upwards! Make today better than yesterday. Go Team USA!

And, on a personal note, we rescued an American Bulldog puppy this weekend. Her name is Faith and she is amazing! I did not realize I would enjoy having a dog so much--nor did I believe an animal could be so sweet. 

New Beginnings

This summer has been very rejuvenating for me. I have found my love for running again, spent more time serving at RunningWorks than ever before and witnessed our high school cross-country athletes at Charlotte Country Day School put in more miles and training than any summer season prior to now. 

Time is such a gift. Normally, I would be fine-tuning training in order to prepare for some of the outdoor season’s most pivotal races. However, my outward focus this summer has helped me fuel my inward joy for running once again. I have been training, building miles, adding workouts, weightlifting, meeting folks for runs, sleeping better, eating healthier and feeling energized since the beginning of June. National Running Day on June 1st was a real spark for me, and as daunting as starting from Ground Zero at any task in life can be—I am grateful I was able to find myself and my running again in these last eight weeks.

School is about to begin anew in the Fall, and I am happy to announce a partnership that will allow me to become a teacher once again at an institution I love and respect exponentially. The Palmetto School, where I once taught, has allowed RunningWorks to take over their Physical Education program this upcoming school year. RW will be on campus two days a week working with a K-2^nd grade class and a 3^rd-8^th grade class each time we meet. Being a P.E. teacher was how I started my teaching career, and I cannot thank Dr. Wilson and his staff for allowing myself and the RW Team to come on board and be a part of this family once again in a different way than our prior involvement.

The Charlotte Country Day School Cross-Country team has been practicing for the last seven weeks in an unofficial capacity. I have enjoyed being a part of our five practices each week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday runs and Tuesday, Thursday weightlifting sessions. Our team has been traveling, attending camps and working various summer jobs, but I am thankful for those athletes who have come out and put “money in the bank” for our upcoming cross-country season. We leave for our inaugural team camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains this coming Friday followed by official team practices beginning on Monday, August 1st; and, our first race is on Saturday, August 20th with a 2-mile preview event at Myers Park High School. 

Personally, I don’t have any races on tap these next few months, but will definitely be running some local races this Fall here in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area that I will announce very soon. I am excited to begin working with my coaches in an organized capacity in the very near future and I am elated that my body is responding to the training I have been able to complete and be consistent with these last two months.

Thank you all for your patience. I haven’t given you much to cheer about athletically this last year; however, I hope you have kept abreast of the many success stories in the Charlotte community that are worth more applause than anything I could accomplish on the track.

I would like to thank my sponsors for their consistent support encouraging me off of the couch and onto the roads and track. I could not do what I do without you--especially in this past year of injury and trial:

• Brooks Running for continued support since 2009 in all   ways
• In the Arena Team for supporting my every need 
• Generation UCAN for being a part of what goes into my body   EVERY SINGLE DAY
• EC3D Compression for being a part of my daily pre and post    workout routine
• Strength Tape for giving my foot the extra support it needs to     be 100% once again
• Celanese Chiropractic for keeping my body in line

·      And, ALL of you—Onwards and Upwards!!

Top 5 Moments of the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials

It has been bittersweet watching every single moment of the 2016 Track and Field Olympic Trials, mostly because I was hoping to be towing the line there until sidelined by surgery about a year ago. On the flip side, I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing my peers and friends succeed, flourish and compete at every level. Even those who did not qualify, showed what true competition looks like and made this Trials amazing and inspiring. The good news is that I am training every day again, and I will be racing with my colleagues very soon...

Here are my top five moments from these past ten days. They may be different from yours, and I kind of hope they are. That is what makes Track and Field so special! Enjoy.

1.  Bernard LAGAT (5000m) and Brenda MARTINEZ (1500m)! I just couldn’t decide who was better at overcoming obstacles and being mentally tough.
2. Charles Jock makes Men’s 800m team with 3^rd place finish. I got to know Charles in the Summer of 2013 in Leuven, Belgium, when we were roommates for a short time as we traveled and competed with our agency—Total Sports US. Charles is a phenomenal athlete, running 1:44 in college as NCAA champion in 2012 and making the World Championships team in 2011. For the last four years, however, he has had several lackluster seasons and fallen short of his goals. We don’t talk much anymore, but I hope he knows that I am a huge fan and I am ecstatic to see him achieve Olympic status. There is no one better dressed in the sport or who carries himself with more class than Charles.
3. Stephanie Garcia comes up 150m short of making Women’s Steeplechase Olympic team. I am not sure if I have ever seen any athlete race harder than Stephanie did in the final of this year’s Women’s Steeplechase. I have known Stephanie since 2012 and have followed her development and rise to stardom. She is one of the few women in this country with three Olympic “A” Standard times and is not scared to mix it up at the front of any big race. I was heartbroken to see her fall over the last barrier, but I hope she knows she can hold her head high because she left everything on Hayward field. Well done, Stephanie!
4. Kate Grace wins Women’s 800m run title. I don’t know Kate at all. But, all I know is that she is a total bad-ass. I followed her season closely and knew, as did most who follow this sport, that she would bring the heat at this Trials. And did she ever, winning perhaps one of the most dramatic races to ever take place on United States soil.
5. Ben Blankenship makes his first US team. I met Ben in 2013 and I have always been scared of him. He is one of the most authentic souls in the sport of Track and Field and also one of the most talented (as you have seen this week at the Trials). He has been fun to watch these last two seasons as he has run some fantastic races to come up just short at Nationals or World Champ qualifiers. Not this time! Congrats Ben, and I look forward to seeing you soon. (Written at 5:55pm EST with the final being run at 8:20pm EST).

Run Happy--Regardless

National Running Day, on June 1st, was a huge success for the RunningWorks team. As a group, we totaled 590-miles over 12 hours and had 85 people run at least one-mile to support our cause of raising awareness for homelessness and poverty here in the Carolinas. We would like to express many thanks to all who came to run and walk with us. I have been involved with the sport of running in an organized fashion for 18 years now, and I can safely say that June 1^st was a day that I will always remember for changing and challenging me in ways that I never thought possible. I ran 26-miles throughout the day, which happened to be on the one-year anniversary of my foot surgery, with a RunningWorks team member named Josh. Josh is very new to the sport of running. He is 21-years-old and came to the program as a blank slate to the running world. I have been on several three-mile runs with him and completed several 5k races with Josh by my side, but I never thought I would say that we would have run the marathon distance together. He just wanted to keep going. He didn’t want to stop until our time was finished for the day. He got outside of his comfort zone like no one I have witnessed (and albeit paid for it the next few days as did I), and we learned more about ourselves and each other that day than ever before. Running was our greatest teacher, and looking back now it has always been my greatest confidant, refuge and strength throughout life. Running taught us all that day, as well as the city of Charlotte. We were able to connect and talk with so many who were wondering—why were we still out on the streets running?!

 

Josh and I after his 5k PR at McAlpine Park this past Sunday.

I have struggled these last few months to find myself, to find that spark or mojo or whatever you want to call it. I thought that it was gone forever and that I would never learn to enjoy running again, much less train and compete at the highest level. Running fast can be overwhelming and the aspects of training that I need to complete day to day have paralyzed me this entire year thus far. The Olympics are this summer. Will you be there? I have been asked. How is your foot? I wish I have a dollar for every time I was asked that question. When is your next race? Is your training going well? All of these questions have come from a loving and caring place, and I thank all of you who have taken the time to reach out to me and check in and give encouragement. However, running has taught me so much more this last year as I have been able to get outside of myself and my selfish pursuit and see life and running at the rawest of levels. It has caused great fear and anxiety for me not training in a structured way, not having all of my meals 100% right and my schedule fit to a “T”, but I know I have still been doing what I have been called to do—run and help others with their running.

I have put together several solid weeks of training and will continue to build with a refined passion that I never thought would go away or be bigger that it was in my past. Running 3:36 for 1500m was great. Running sub four-minutes in the mile 11 times was cool. Finishing in the top four at a USA Championship twice was a blessing, but running at RunningWorks has changed my life and perspective more that any of those accomplishments combined.

I want to thank all of my supporters and sponsors for your patience this last year. It has not been pretty on the outside or inside for that matter, but I can promise you this—I still love to run. I have learned to love practices even if I am not running, to love racing even if I am not winning and running with people even if I am not in the best shape I can be. I have learned to just put on my shoes and go. To not stress about tomorrow or the next day, but to truly make today the best it can be. It was easy to say let’s make today better so that my tomorrow will be best when I was in peak shape. Now, I have learned to do that even when I am 15-pounds overweight and hurting all over. Life is a good. Running is good. I am good. Now, it is time to get my best back, and be better than I was ever was before. Onwards and Upwards!

I Run Because It Is Who I Am

As National Running Day fast approaches this coming Wednesday, June 1^st, it causes me to reflect on this past year and who I am as a runner. National Running Day falls on the first Wednesday of June each year, but this year is special because it marks exactly 365 days from the date of my foot surgery as well. Suffering my first serious injury has enabled me to grow a lot as a person—not just a runner. I always like to say that the “R” in running stands for “Relationships”, and having some downtime to reflect and invest in others has proven this beyond a shadow of a doubt for me. Running is not something I just do for myself. It is my life. Nearly having it taken away from me has made me love it even more. Giving the gift of running to others is one of the most rewarding things I have found in my life.

That being said, I am so excited about what we are doing with the RunningWorks team on Wednesday for National Running Day. In order to raise awareness for poverty in the Carolinas and beyond—as well as challenge the stigma associated with the homeless population, we are “setting up shop” on the busiest corner in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina (the corner of Trade and Tryon Streets) to run for 12 hours with our homeless groups, community partners and volunteers. At all times, someone will be running various one mile loops in matching RunningWorks shirts in a coordinated effort to draw attention to the misconceptions and realities involved with our heroic family. It has been amazing to see how much the community has rallied behind this effort and supported the idea we put together in a short amount of time. It has not been a competitive effort, but rather a collaborative one with all of the running stores, race companies and partners working together and becoming one.

Special Branded National Running Day Shirts for RunningWorks

 I would to challenge all of you to think about why it is you run. Use the hashtag #IRunBecause and #RWTeam for National Running Day, and be sure to follow our effort. If you live in the area, please feel free to come out and join us! We will be there from 6am-6pm before heading down to our regular Wednesday evening program at the NoDa Run Club, 2229 N. Davidson, for a family dinner. See the attached link to our website for more information.

http://www.runningworks.org/runningworks-to-celebrate-national-running-day-on-wednesday-june-1/

Running has helped to open my eyes to the world in which I live, and challenged me to see the bigger picture of life. I hope that the things you are passionate about in life do the same for you. I am grateful for the opportunity everyday to “get” to do something I love with the people I love the most. We never “have” to do anything. It is a gift. Running works. Onward!

Quotes to Live By

Here are just a few quotes that inspire me and keep me focused on why I live my life the way I do. Please feel free to comment and share some of your favorite or most meaningful quotes. I would love to learn what fuels your fire!

"The only easy day was yesterday." 

Coach Greg Adamson

"Whether you think you can or you can't--you're right."

Meredith Dolhare

"The only day of the week that doesn't exist is someday."

"Workouts aren't meant to show how fast you are, they prepare you to run fast." 

Coach Scott Simmons

Proverbs 3: 5-6 (NIV)

5: Trust in the Lord with all your heart

    and lean not on your own understanding;

6: in all your ways submit to him,

    and he will make your pathsstraight. 

Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

"I learned English by watching movies and listening to the radio." 

My coach Ruud Van Thienen (who is from Belgium), M.D and Ph.D in Exercise Physiology

"You only have one chance to make a first impression."--Aaron Kersey

"I quit school because of recess, I don't play."

Dad

"I love you more than you will ever know."

Mom

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt

Now let us get the conversation started!

The Competitive Edge

My Inspiration for "bringing it" to everything

If there is one thing I know for sure, it is that if you have a truly competitive spirit, it never leaves you. Even though I have been injured and struggling to get back to my prior level of racing, training and competing, I have been witness to others attempting to find their edge in addition to enjoying various sports where I have seen mine emerge with a vengeance at key times. This gives me hope that I will be able to really “bring it” when I am back in my favorite oval—track nation.

When coaching at the high school level, it is all about learning and having fun, but also so important to be able to find that extra gear within—especially at championship meets or to qualify for them. The “competitive gear” needs to match the “fun gear”, and if you find the balance between those two elements of running then the pressure that comes will be welcome. The mind wills the body to perform outside of yourself and possibly even current fitness—almost like pure adrenaline. For example, at 2013 USA Nationals, I ran a 51.1-second last 400m to finish in 4^th place in a star-studded field, but I had not run a 51-second 400m in any workout or meet all year—even in an 800m! The body will find a way if the mind is trained to compete.

My dad doing all the things he loves...BEST

I was blessed to grow up watching one of the best athletes I have ever seen “bring it” time and again in every sport imaginable—football, basketball, baseball, golf, bowling, ping pong, tennis, name it. I’m speaking of my Dad. He was the quarterback at Furman University for four years, and is still the biggest stud I know. He scored 52 points in a high school basketball game, batted over .500 for a season in baseball, can throw a football more than 60 yards, bowled 250, shot 35 on nine holes, and ran 400m in 55-seconds at 6’3”/220lbs just to give a frame of reference. To quote him, “he quit school because of recess because he does not play.” Even now, he beats me at almost everything because he refuses to lose. It doesn’t matter if I am beating him for 90 percent of the duration of whatever game we are playing (even Scrabble or Horse)—at the last minute he is clutch. Just this weekend, he won the Captain’s Choice Golf Tournament for the Furman Football Alumni Association at 62-years-old. That is the competitive edge I wish for every single person reading this and think about each time I walk onto the track. He even beat cancer.

My first golf outing in years with my best friend from college, his dad and my dad

The influence of my Dad throughout the years has helped me through this tough time of transition from surgery, as I have not been competing in MY sport right now. However, I have enjoyed playing a few others like basketball and golf—things I had not really done in years. Frankly, I didn’t expect much. Yet, like my Dad (and because of him), when I needed to find that extra gear at the end, to change the fun gear to the competitive one, it happened seamlessly. It gave me confidence and made the entire outing much more enjoyable! I know I’ll have it in the last 400m of my races, and I am looking forward to proving that. The best part of playing other sports is exercising that competitive muscle during clutch times—the feeling of pressure, the adrenaline, the knowing when to step up and take a shot, to take a chance. There is nothing quite like it. Experience playing anything helps hone this skill. Just ask my Dad.

With the best parents ever--and of course my dad had to beat us to the top