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Sprint Lab
Hosted by Kieran Gillespie (@sprintscience) and Alex Rodrigues (@arod_running), we discuss the scientific principles of sprint performance.
Sprint Lab
Unlucky stories
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Episode 13...unlucky for some. This week we share some unfortunate stories from our time in athletics, for your entertainment.
If you have any similar stories you want to submit, send us a DM at either @sprintscience or @arod_running for a chance to feature in a future episode!
Okay. Welcome back to episode 13 of sprint lab. Um, today, 13, we are doing our unluckiest, um, incidents in the sports. We're telling, telling some stories. We've got three each. And just before we get started, uh, if you have any unfortunate incidents or occurrences or injuries or anything, uh, to do with the sport of athletics, please send them into either me or Alex via Instagram. I am at sprint science and Alex is at a rod. Underscore running. That's a R O D underscore running. So yeah, please send in your confessions. Um, as cringy as you can, please don't exaggerate though. Um, we, and we'll read them out on the next episode, um, that we record after you send them in. Um, because we may bulk record before then we'll, we'll try and make it somewhat relevant. Okay. Episode 13. Here we go. Do you want to go first or shall I?
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah, I'll kick things
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Right.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Um, okay. So, despite how many injuries I've had, this first one's not actually an injury.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Okay.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612an unlucky thing. Um, so, know if you were there actually, but it really annoyed me. So, it was a northern One of the last matches of last year when we ended up winning it.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613I must've been there. Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612yeah, it was in Doncaster
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Right.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612and I was on the 400 meters.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612and I did, I sweated myself out. I just, was really, it was a really, really hot day. I was
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613no. I remember this day actually. Yeah. It was boiling
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612It was boiling and I was
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613degrees.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612was dying. I was just trying my hardest. I was like, there was not really many people in the race. Everyone was dropping
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Hmm.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612was just me against the clock, really.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Hmm.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Then about to cross the line and I see it go 50, 51, and I crossed the line and it stops at 51, seven or something like that.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Right.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612sick PB, big PV.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613You just broken 52 for the first time.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612So for 52
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Right. Okay.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612ran it on my own. I was over the
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613I remember seeing the video for this, right? Cause you were literally like 60 meters clear.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612this is, this is my beef. I've got the video proof of this. The time gets rounded up to 52. 2. Yeah, 52. 19. And I thought, what? That's, that's way off.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612And, like, maybe it could have been that. But, I go to the officials and I said, like, can I just see, like, the photo finish for this? An official walks across the line at the same time I cross the thing. He's covering the whole thing up.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Oh my God.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah, and I've got the video, and they said, oh, he crossed the line at 51. 7, you crossed at 51, uh, 52. 90, and I was like, I, I shot, and I look back at the video, and I'm 99. 99 percent sure I crossed the line before him, or at least at the same time as him. And, and if you hand time it, from the smoke to the thingy, it's, it's also 51. 7,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Oh my God.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612I was raging. Um.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613You have said it's worth mentioning. You have since gone on to run 51, seven, right? Indoors.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612indoor
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah. Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_17261251 5, I think
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613So
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612So
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613runs, but that is, that is annoying. That is annoying. Is that season. I remember you just come back from like a, what is it? A foot injury or something.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613come back later in the year and you were running quite well. And then yeah. That was one of your only races that year, wasn't it?
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612It was like, I think I did two, four hundreds.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah, yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612one relay as well, or something like that.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Good old officials. Um, interesting, I've also got a dodgy official story not to do with me. I'll just quickly insert this. Um, so I was, I was throwing the javelin. At just some random like open meeting somewhere and there was a 5k race going on, right? And it was just, it was a really hot day. It was like, once again, it was like 30 something degrees. Um, but I was, I was throwing javelin and it was on the second bend. So by the steeplechase water jump, um, that's where I was on the track. And these guys were coming around, around and around. It was quite an intense race. So like five guys in the front pack and they were, they were gunning for like 15 something. So they were fast. Right. And final lap comes round, obviously they've run 4. 8k at this point, they're sprinting round, last 200, all five of them going for it, and then the official walks out with, um, like they were holding some throwing implements, they were taking it to like, uh, the district circle that was outside the track limits, they just walked out right in front of the leader. Took him out because they were holding like this trolley full of, um, discuses or this guy, whatever it is, took him out. And then four of them just charged past him. And he came last, this other guy, he was, he was like just broken away from the pack with 200 to go. And he just got wiped out by, by a trolley full of discuses
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612damn.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613big official.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Uh, I can't hate on visuals'cause they, they, they run the,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah. Love officials, but they have some clangor sometimes, don't they?
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612That's good. That's good.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612That's more annoying.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613yeah, yeah. But once again, that wasn't to do with me. I had quite a good competition that day, because it was really warm. It's good thrown in the warm.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Launching ling. Nice.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Right.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612first
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613So my first one, uh, this was when I was, I think I was like 15. maybe even 14. Um,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613like I said in the last episode, I didn't really get into training seriously until about 18 19. I did athletics before that. I just train like once a week. You know, I mean the classic school kid kind of
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612yeah,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613where you just don't take it out seriously, right? So I've always hurdled and I was doing this hurdles race and it was tied in with this family. Like get away somewhere. I can't remember where it was for the life of me, but we drove about three, four hours to this place
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613we were staying for a couple of nights and I was racing on one of those days. So it felt like a big deal, you know, when you're 14 and one of the days of his holidays, like taken up by me rates at a comp or half a day was taken up by this, right? So sprint hurdles race. And I was slow, right? I was, I was never naturally quick. I was just slow as anything when I was that age for context, I probably would have run the a hundred and about 13, eight. 13, nine, that kind of level, right. When I was that age, I was, um, yeah. So this felt like a big deal, a lot of pressure for someone that knew full well, that they weren't all that good at the sport, right. So get down on the blocks, right. So I'm not even using starting blocks at this point on your marks, set, bang, race goes off, right. And there's this half decent, um, girl in the race. She's like 18, 19 at this point. So she just zips away and I'm chasing after her, right. I'm getting after it. We're a couple of lanes apart cause the hurdles aren't. the same height or distance, you know, it's just like, there's like a, a free lane between us and I get so distracted trying to race this other person that like get to hurdle 10 and I, I just realized, shit, I'm not making it on three steps and I, my lead leg goes straight under it. I go over the top of it and just smack straight down on the track. Hurdle 10, hurdle 10, like four hours from home, um, half a day of the holiday.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Noise
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613the drain and yeah, I just get up off the track. I look to the side and see my parents in the stands. I'm like, I just, I, it is what it is. Just walk over the line and off you go. I don't know even why. I don't even know why I went over the finish line at that point. I'm pretty sure it's on my power of 10, uh, as like this mega slow hurdles race, but it's just not even, I fell in it.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612okay,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613There you go.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612that's bad that is
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612oh man,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Right. Come on. Next one from you.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612bad, um, okay, so this is like a A, a bit of context, right? So I used to be like 800 runner when I was 15. Um, and I never got to break two minutes. It was really annoying.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Right,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612So I ran 2 0 1 4 times in 10 days. It so annoying. Yeah. The first time I did it, it was an unexpected, like massive pb. I was like, okay, sick.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613yeah,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612that was, that was a surprise. So I was like, okay, happy, happy days. And that was on like a Sunday, like a league event. I then did a Wednesday midweek open at Watford. If anyone's in the UK who
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613yeah, I remember, I remember those going on, yeah. Right
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612did another 201 there. That was the most annoying because I went through in 57. Um, and I was like, I'm on
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613on pace. Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612I sprinted off at the bell thinking I didn't need to do that and then I died
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Ah,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612last 200. And then there was a school race in there and then another championship race. So actually I did five races because I had the heats for the championship. Um, and then the final, so, so I was like gassed as well. Um, because I was then going on holiday for a week. And I was like, right, week rest, come back and I'll do it. I'll do this up to do a bit. So yeah, um That was already unlucky. I thought And that was the closest I came because on holiday I'm in the port in the in the sea I fucking I kick a rock
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613ah,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612And I was like, oh fuck what's that? And I put my like bring my foot above the water. My dad's just like pissing about with my brothers
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613right.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612and I'm like My toenails hanging off
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Ah, no.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612was
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Ah, it's nasty as well.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612So, And so I was like, dad, my Antonio's falling off. He is like,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Ah,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612shut. Like Um, Fuck yeah. Basically I was
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613run for ages, could you?
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612as soon as I got back I was, I went to the a and e at the, at Spain and like on the beach, coast Guard, like I remember like none, none of us understood a word they were
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Great.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Um, I was just there like toenail off. Uh.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613toenail off.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah, yeah, come on. can't you see we're, and they were like, Do you want us to, like, rip it all the way
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Oh God. Oh my God.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Sorry, this is disgusting,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613This is, this is making me, making my screen crawl. God.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612I won't tell you what happened then, but, um, Basically, I couldn't, couldn't run when I got back. I was, like, hobbling around for ages. I never got to break two minutes. And then the year after, I stopped doing middle distance, which is stupid, but, and I've not run sub two, ever.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613I mean, if you can run, you run 51 mid indoors, uh, if, if you run like a, you know, if you run like a 50 point, I think just regardless of what you're at, if you've got an endurance background, you could probably just run sub two.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah. I
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613And anyway, if you run 50, um, I mean, if you're eight runner and run 50, then you can run about one 50, can't you? So,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612that's true.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613uh, yeah, anyway, anyway, that, that is horrible, but that genuinely made my skin crawl that one. Thanks for
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612sorry. Everyone as well.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah. Wow. I feel sick. Um, my next one, my next one was about, uh, it's about a genuine injury, uh, as opposed to just a, a thing that happened. Um, not quite as gruesome as that. So, um, I was in sixth form. Uh, so for, for Americans over there, that is 17, 18 years old. I was, I think I was 17. I don't know.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612High school. Isn't it out there?
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Not sure. Yeah.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613weird system. Anyway, uh, I was in sixth form and some mates, um, got together and we were going to play some football. So that is a ball kicking about with a foot for the American listeners. Um, not your hand. It's not egg ball. It's, uh, it's football. And we went to this AstroTurf, um, and we'd literally just chuck the balls over the fence. We got through the gate, um, kicking around a few passes here and there. And then someone rolls the ball to me. I'm on the edge of the box and I take a big swing at it with my right foot. I'm left footed. So, you know, I don't know whether this was a factor in this big swing, my right foot, leg comes back, try to. whip it forward and pop rectus femoris, the quad muscle just rips straight away. And I literally felt the kind of like, I felt the tear. I felt the hot rush of pain. It was really like, I remember the sensation. And I just remember thinking, Oh, I've done something serious there. Like, but I didn't really know what I'd done at the time. It didn't bruise up properly. I didn't like bleed or anything under the skin, so it wasn't obvious, but I just knew I was injured. I couldn't really run about properly and I couldn't kick a ball with my right foot, but I just thought like, Oh God, like I said, wasn't really taking athletics too serious at this point. I was like, Oh God, I'll just, you know, I'll do what I can today. I was running about with this torn quad for like two hours. Um, it's stupidest thing to do ever. Because then I was out of proper training for, I mean, at that point it was like a month, six weeks out. So it mustn't have been a bad tear initially. It felt quite bad, but it must have just hit, hit the nerve somewhere or whatever it was, hit the wrong place. Um, but yeah, it was just, it was just one of them where I was like, I didn't really need to do that in hindsight that I, you know, it was just, it was just a day of football. So, but yeah, first shot of the day, literally like two minutes into playing ping quad goes.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612it's weird, you know, like, I just did um, a lecture for second years on this sort of thing, and like, your quad, If you're, if you're kicking it right, this might mean why if you're kicking properly in football, doesn't accelerate the leg forward as much as, um, an eccentric slowing down of the hip or the
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Okay. Right.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612due to that sequential action of motion mechanics, basically, it whips the
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612ankle forward. And I'm thinking maybe because you were like contracting
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612it doesn't normally contract. It might have just
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Maybe. Maybe. Yeah. I'm terrible at football. So it could possibly be my poor technique. Um, and I just tried to try to sling one out first, first shot of the day and it just went, yeah. All right. All right. All right. Don't look at me like that.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612three, mate. Three in a row.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah. True. True. All right.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612row.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613That's my story. Done. Then on that note,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Don't sling one out in would you?
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613I'm not Gary Lineker.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Right, for me, my last one well, my third pick of three was, uh, Have you heard of Parliament Hill in
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah. The cross country race.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612That's it. So, back in the day, like I said, the middle distance runner, um, cross country. I think it was, I think it was the south of England,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Right. Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612but it might have been national. So every other year it was national, every other year it was south of England. It would be on power of 10. Um, yeah, independent at the start, and you basically, Parliament Hill is just a because it's however many people, national or
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah. It's
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612it's all at the start line, and you've got to, you know, In about 200 meters, which is pure
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613the tip of the hill, isn't it?
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612down to like five people wide.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613wow. Okay.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612So it was a, it was always just a stampede at the start. and I remember getting knocked by this massive ginger bellend, just. me
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613was me. It was me.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612He knocked me to the floor, but I then got like, someone spiked me in the
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Oh,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612right in the right Achilles. And then like they, I don't know how it happened. They like dragged my Achilles forward and I was just. dead last in this race. I remember lying on the floor. This guy, Ashley Harville, if you ever, if, then if you'll remember me from my team, you jumped over me like, go on panics. For what? Adrenaline was just got me up and I finished the race and then I had to get a tetanus shot and stuff. Cause I'd like a big hole in my Achilles, like right next to it. And I still got a scar there now. And it's like, wow, that was, I thought I was well unlucky. Um, didn't like, it wasn't.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Look, it didn't tear your Achilles open.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612yeah,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612very close. Um, they were like, why did you run so much mud in it as well? I was just like begging for an amputation. That's
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613tendinopathy in it this, this time, would you?
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612the thing.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah. So many factors to consider there. So many parts of that story. Um, But Parliament Hill, I only know what that is really, because I never ran there, um, when I was younger, but one of my friends who used to do cross country and then became a forerunner at uni, um, shout out Josh, uh, he's from Suffolk, and one of his teammates from Suffolk, so that's obviously down south, um, relatively to us in Lincoln, was near a Parliament Hill, so he raced there a few times, one of his mates, um, sprinted At the start, literally bombed it as hard as he could. He wasn't even like,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Good.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613that good a cross country runner by all accounts. But he sprinted as hard as he could because he knew the first person over the top of Parliament Hill got their photo on the front of Athletics Weekly.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Okay.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613So Athletics Weekly, for those of you that don't know, is just like a magazine catalog thing. It's mostly digitized now, but it used to be like, you know, a regular athletics issue thing. They used to get published, um, in the UK, or there is, there is published every week in the UK. And, uh, the photo on the front is the photo on the front. And that week it's Parliament Hill cross country. And this guy got his photo
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612made it then.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613on the
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612on?
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah, he made it on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, and then he just dropped back really far because he sprinted 200 plus meters right at the start. He's probably,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612muddy uphill as
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613yeah, yeah, yeah, but he just absolutely bombed it ahead of all these national level cross country runners.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612That's the thing, it's like a, it's like, you know how everyone pays to do like Tough Mudder?
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Do Parliament Hill in February for free. It's the same thing.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612yeah. I did love Parliament Hill. Me and my mates would always make fun of those people who sprint off at the start.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612That's from your mate.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613yeah, it's always good because I probably did as well because I couldn't sprint. So, you know, there's that, um, but now I always did the, the Mansfield one. Berry Hill. Is it called?
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612I liked that, I loved that
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah, it's quite short. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was the one I did when I was younger, but cross country days are long over.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612I've got like, one of my favorite athletics photos of me is from the,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Oh, really?
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612when I was a kid, they, uh, it was just like mid stride,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Okay. Nice. Nice. Will you run it for Lincoln at that point? No.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612nah, no, nah. I, I only moved to Lincoln. It's literally a two years ago. Next week
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Oh, wow.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612moved,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Happy anniversary.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612been there less than two years. Yeah. No, I was from Camberley down, down south.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Okay. Okay. Right. Right. Right. Uh, have you done three now? Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612all my.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Right, me to go. Okay. So, um, when I first got into athletics on the track, at least, um, I always used to do like multi events. So I've mentioned I did hurdles. I mentioned in one of my other confessions that I did javelin a bit. Um, I used to try badly at doing, uh, multi events. Um, I've got half decent javelin PB. I have 42 in the javelin, but, um, the rest of them. Let's not speak about them because, uh, so this, I was in a decathlon when, when this happened, uh, and it was like, I can't remember if it was just a regional round to qualify for English schools, um, or something like that. English schools, multi events isn't that hard to qualify for. You basically just have to do the regional round and you're in, um, cause there's not that many competitors. I was in this. Decathlon and I put together whatever number of events and I was on for a PB. I was going pretty well. And for those of you that don't know, the javelin is ninth in the decathlon. It is second to last to the 1500 and we got to the javelin and I was on for a PB point score. Which once again, nothing to speak of really in point score terms, but it was relative to me. It was my best, right? So I'm in this javelin. I'm like, right. Okay. Okay. Got to have a good javelin and a half decent 1500. It's all done. All right. I'm over. Um, so I'm just focused on the javelin. First throw goes out. Um, no, sir. Okay. Right. So foul throw. Whatever. Uh, shake it off. Go again. Second throw. Okay. Get, get a safe ish one in. Um, and then, you know, go for it on my last one because I'm on for a PB anyway. I've got a bit of a cushion, so it's fine. Throw it and I don't throw that. I don't put a lot into it at that point and it just just stalls a little bit and it lands flat and they give it as an overthrow again. I'm like,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612oh,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613I don't know. So
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612oh.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613last throw last throw in this comp because you only get three throws as a multi event. Uh, and they get three jumps as well. So I come up, right? Okay. Um, I just think I screw it. You know, I'm like, what am I? 18, 17, I'll just throw it and, you know, whatever. Um, I've got a long career ahead of me and I'm going to get a lot better than I am today. So whatever, throw it. And of course it lands back end first, no throw. I turn around and I'm just like, Oh my God, my dad's like stood. at the back of the runway. And he just, it just makes this face. I mean, it's like, what happened there? Like what are you doing? You know what I mean? What are you doing? We'd have to travel once again. Like my other confession was
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Oh,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613three, four hours. This one wasn't as bad. I think it was like two hours, but at the castle is an investment. Cause you got to stay overnight somewhere.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613actually know it must've been more than two hours. Cause he wouldn't have stayed overnight for a two hour trip. Um, but yeah, I'd, I'd like, you know, yeah. stayed in a hotel room for this, um, comp. I think it must've been down in Essex or something. If it was that far, so annoying, just fouled out of the javelin. I did the 1500 cause you have to, you have to start each event to get a valid score in the deck. Um, but yeah, it was just frustrating one.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612that's, that would, that would do it for me. Yeah. I, and you've not done one since?
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Uh, no, I have. Yeah. So I did, I did multi events up to sort of first year uni, but once again, I only really started training properly during first year unit at some point, so I wasn't very good then either, you know, um, I
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612did a decathlon for, for Lincoln this
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613do one four times a year. Yeah. Yeah. You're welcome. Denise. Um, if I did a decathlon now, even though I haven't done the majority of the events since my last decathlon, I'd still PB. You know, it's that kind of level where I wasn't, I wasn't all that great. You know, the hundred long jump shot put high jump 400, you know, just off the back of decent 400 meter training. I could probably do a good effort at all of them.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613it's just, it's just one of them where I'm in so much better shape now than I was, but still, it was frustrating at the time,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah, yeah, that's good. That's a good one.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613right?
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612It's funny. It's funny to look back on these things.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613It is, it is, yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612still going strong.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Exactly, exactly. It didn't, it didn't deter me. It didn't put me off the event at all,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613somehow. But the multi events are so good, you know, because it's like, you know, to put together ten half decent events, it's such a, it's such a weird challenge. It ends up being a really good, like, close knit community, the multi events. side of things, because it's just, it's not really, it's not really you against whoever else is in the comp, it's you against the, the event. Um, and people have different strengths and weaknesses and whatever. So it always ends up being like, you're not, you're not into, I mean, I definitely wasn't, but you're not in it to win every single, you know, Individual event. It's more like you've got to just, you've got to just shape up against your own skeleton structure of how you should perform. Um, so it's, it's nice. Yeah. It's a different style of event and it definitely teaches you a lot, teach you a lot when you file out four hours from home and you got, you got to go through the car journey. Yeah, yeah, exactly. That's that shaking his head, fuming. Yeah,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612disappointing your dad. That is,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613I know. I know I had to run a 1500 after that though. So I got punishment enough.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612my dad's, my dad's sort of looked at me like that, like a few times in races or something like, what the f k was that?
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Was your, was your dad an athlete or was he just like a disappointed dad?
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612He did like, just, just sporty. Yeah.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah. Yeah. He'd take me to some of these, he'd do the same like, Put us up in a hotel night before or something and wherever it is, God, God knows where, middle of nowhere and then hours from home
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612he's probably more disappointed than you
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah. It's nice. It's nice. So when parents are there for you, whatever, it's nice when that is the case, um, shout out my parents. They always try and come to
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612yeah
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_17261399 percent of my races.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah, that's good. That's
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613It's nice.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612When me and my brothers all did athletics, um, it was always like a family thing out, because mum would make the packed lunches, put like a big cool box of food together,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Classic. Yeah.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612and my mates would just be like, nicking my brother's food, laughing laughing
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Your brother's going to be honest. That totally separate podcast episode being like, yeah, I went to this competition and someone had just eaten all my food. You know, it was. Yeah. I'm just, I'm just starving all day. Yeah,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612actually. Yeah, I appreciate you doing that parents.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613yeah, yeah. Yeah, definitely. All right. Well, I think that's a good way to leave it. Nice positive note to end the unfortunate podcast.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613most unfortunate one. Yeah,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612though. Yeah,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613yeah,
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612want to hear.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613yeah. I want to hear some funny stories to make me feel better about mine.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah,
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613All right.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612mind of being read out.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah, exactly. We'll keep them anonymous if you say so. We'll keep them anonymous.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612do
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613But if you want a shout out, if you want, if you want to rinse this for followers, then you can do a little bit. If your story's half decent, then I'll give you a shout out.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612I have one mate, one mate, like, pissed himself during a
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Oh my God. Oh my
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612we were like, in school.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Why didn't you just come out with that now?
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612wasn't through me. I'm just, I'm just like, that's the level I'm looking for, like, with
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Jesus.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Yeah, I'm hoping for something like that. I will keep them anonymous, but
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Yeah, which mate? Come on, tell me off air.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612you won't know, you won't know, you won't know, I'm gone.
squadcaster-7dge_2_11-17-2024_172613Right. Okay. That's a good place to leave it then. That is definitely a good place to leave it. If, if not the parents part of that part before it gets too ridiculous. Okay. Right. See you in episode 14. I don't know what it will be topics wise, but yeah, we'll see you then.
alex_2_11-17-2024_172612Cool, peace out.