There is this guy in London, by name of Alex Vero, who happens to be a member of my running club and who has a daring ambition to qualify for UK Olympic team in the marathon. He only started running 2 years ago, overweight and out of shape. His goal is to document his adventure in a documentary as well as explore reasons for long distance running decline in Great Britain. He got slapped and insulted by many "serious" runners (for example on LetsRun.com), and he suffered a huge setback last April, when he tore a muscle on the course of Paris marathon. However, he picked himself up and just last week ran a 1:13 half, setting PRs in 5K and 10K enroute. His story is very inspiring, and he now has a video on his site about 5 last months of training. It's worth checking out his site and the video:
http://www.theroadtobeijing.co.uk/roadtobeijing.htmI raced with him once on the track in 3000m race (yeah, he lapped me!), and then again in a Middlesex Open 10K in September. He is a pretty normal guy, not arrogant or out to prove anything. He just wants to see how far average not talented guy can go through sheer hard work. Granted, he has access to far better resources than most regular people would have (like GB coach Frank Horwill, various coaches and consultants, going to altitude camps in French Alps, etc.), but still, his story is fascinating and inspiring. He may never achieve OTQ, but he deserves a lot of credit for trying AND willing to put his trials out there for everyone to see. I see some similarities with bloggers on this site, who achieved remarkable progress through hard work and dedication, even if their success is not as well documented as Alex's. The idea is the same though.
