By Julia Pitt

Last weekend was a bit different. I spent most of it attending a seminar on race walking of all things. Yes, that track & field event with the swishy hips and rather awkward gait that never gets much coverage on television.

It was, however, fascinating. Led by Olympic race walker Tim Seaman and coach Jeff Savage, I learned a great deal about this under-sung sport: its incredible health benefits, low injury rate, inclusive competitor-ship (making it an ideal way for virtually anyone to get out and moving), and the many opportunities for young participants wanting to pursue it to elite level.

It was also fun trying to master the strictly monitored technique that sets it aside from just a stroll in the park — and gives it its distinctive derrière wiggle.

Who knew learning to walk would be so tricky!

What I found equally compelling were the parallels I drew between the planning needed to compete in sports, and what’s needed to be a contender anywhere else.

The same rules and principles apply, whether we are coaching race walking or coaching life.

Some steps to success — on or off the track:

1. Specific successes require not only our effort and hard work but a well-devised training plan. Otherwise it’s just exercise.

2. Mental training is half the game. Set positive mini-goals to keep building on an achievable path of successes. Identify potential pitfalls and find solutions to address them before they arise. Programme the mind to maintain a calm and resourceful state, and use mental imagery to pre-plan success and create triggers for positive responses.

3. When learning new techniques or approaching new challenges, break them down into bite-sized components to master.

4. Build up slowly or we can blow all our effort and enthusiasm on the first pass and give up before we ever go the distance.

5. Bad habits are hard to break with just focus and willpower. It takes deliberate, repetitive exercises to retrain muscle memory and create new automatic responses.

6. Key components to develop (both physical and mental): strength and flexibility.

7. Look to those greats who have succeeded before us. Analyse their style/approach (what worked, what didn’t) and learn from them.

8. What goes in fuels what we get out, eg good nutrition/sleep for physical fitness … culture/education/awareness for personal growth.

9. Rest, relaxation and self-care are an equally vital part of training hard.

10. Always keep the overall objective in mind. It helps gauge focus, pace and when/where to push.

11. Set ourselves up for success by keeping goals within our control, eg aiming for a PB time or a greater distance keeps our wins up to us and not dependent on the competition.

Thank you to the organisers and sponsors of the seminar, a great example of how a vision and enthusiasm can make things happen. I look forward to watching race walking wiggle its rightful way into our national and international teams’ competitive successes.

Julia Pitt is a trained success coach and certified NLP practitioner on the team at Benedict Associates. For further information contact Julia on 705-7488, www.juliapittcoaching.com.