Question of integrity and lesson learnt

Dear all,

Today, I took part in the Passion Saucony Run and came in 8th Position.

Although I knew I could have done better, I was happy with the result.

When I was returning to the finishing point, I was following a runner in front of me very tightly. As I have always taught all of you, always follow the person in front and cut him or her when the opportunity comes. As I was following him very closely, I realised that the person had cheated!

He took a short cut and reduced the race by a good 800m. That means he had cut short the race! As I was following him, I almost cheated too. But I told myself in the head....

"Sportsmanship is very important!"

So I turned back to the original route and ran again. In the end I ran an extra 200m as it was a detour. My position dropped from top 5 to 8th but I was happy.

This is because I did not cheat and completed the race. The person who cheated had jeers when the commentator announced his name.

The moral of the story is that sportsmanship is very important and fellow sportsmen will respect you only if you do the right thing.

Remember, never give up and keep training.

- Coach