Perserverance Pays Off

Skyler finishing up on a cross-country run.

I went to a high school track meet the other day to watch our grandson, Skyler Young, participate. While watching him I was reminded of a story I had read last fall in a church newspaper. I did some web surfing to get more information on this story because I thought it would interest some of you.

            It seems that for quite a few years Australia was host to a 543.7 mile (875 kilometer) ultra-marathon endurance race. This race started in Sydney and ended in Melbourne and took five days to complete and usually only attempted by world-class athletes who have trained specially for this race.

            In 1983, 61-year-old Cliff Young showed up at the start of the race, dressed in overalls and work boots. Cliff picked up his race number and joined the others at the starting line. Many people told him he was crazy and that there was no way he would finish the race to which he replied, “Yes I can. See, I grew up on a farm where we couldn’t afford horses or tractors, and the whole time I was growing up, whenever the storms would roll in, I’d have to go out and round up the sheep. We had 2,000 sheep on 2,000 acres. Sometimes I would have to run those sheep for two or three days. It took a long time, but I’d always catch them. I believe I can run this race.”

            In order to complete the race in 5 days it was understood that the competitors would run about 18 hours a day and sleep the remaining 6 hours.  However, Cliff claimed he would run straight through to the finish without sleeping.  He didn’t run like the trained athletes did, his gait was actually an odd shuffle. Each night he came closer to those in the lead, and by the final night Cliff was in the lead. He was the first to cross the finish line setting a new course record.

After the race Cliff told reporters that he just pretended he was searching for sheep and trying to outrun a storm. When he was awarded the $10,000 for winning the race, he was surprised. He wasn’t aware there was a prize for winning.

            Cliff entered the same race a year later and came in seventh. Having a displaced hip during the race did not stop him from finishing, though it did slow him down.        

            Today the “Young shuffle” is used by many of the ultra-marathon runners because it is considered more energy-efficient. And during this Sydney to Melbourne race, the competitors no longer sleep. (http:www.elitefeet.com/the-legend-of-cliff-young)

            Cliff Young suffered a stroke in 2000 after competing in a race that he was unable to finish. He passed away November 2, 2003 at the age of 81. Until the time he had the stroke he participated in a number of races.

            Here was a farmer/rancher who persevered: he didn’t back down when people said he couldn’t accomplish what he set out to do; he didn’t worry about not having clothes that matched everyone else; he paced himself according to what he knew he could do; and he won.

Isn’t that what farming and ranching is all about? Farmers may not be involved in well advertised races, but they do race against time, weather, and the markets. A wet spring like this one may slow them down some, but as soon as they are able, they are out in the fields getting the soil ready and the seeds planted. And the usual attire is overalls and boots.  Yes, they continue to move forward, maybe only with a shuffle, and quite often with a lack of sleep. During the busy times it is not unusual for many farmers to become sleep deprived.  But they persevere, and by doing so they too win the race.  And the prize at the end of the race often is the good feeling of knowing a job has been accomplished.