Monday, August 17, 2015
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
The Legend of Cliff Young
While others run fast, you can just shuffle with perseverance.
While others impress, you can simply press on.
While others stop for the dark, you can run through the dark.
While others impress, you can simply press on.
While others stop for the dark, you can run through the dark.
In one of our past MEDA reflections, we heard about the value of honesty and integrity in our work, and the importance of paying attention to the seeds we sow.
One of the many other values and attributes that I believe we hold true here in our work at MEDA is perseverance.
I was doing a bit of research on this word, and came upon a few great quotes. Here are a few I thought were interesting:
One of the many other values and attributes that I believe we hold true here in our work at MEDA is perseverance.
I was doing a bit of research on this word, and came upon a few great quotes. Here are a few I thought were interesting:
- "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer." ~ Albert Einstein
- "Consider a postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets there."
- And the mantra of the marketing department - "The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground."
The most interesting find in my research was a true story about an Australian runner named Cliff Young, which I'd like to share with you.
I'd like to dedicate this story of perseverance to the one MEDA staff person who models this for us - Julie Redfern (perseverance in cycling and engagement)
Between the years 1983 and 1991, Australia hosted an 875-kilometer endurance racing from Sydney to Melbourne – considered at the time to be the world's longest and toughest ultra-marathon. It's a race that takes a week and normally participated by world-class athletes who train specially for the event. Backed by big names in sports like Nike, these athletes are mostly, less than 30 year old men and women, equipped with the most expensive sponsored training outfits and shoes.
In 1983, these top class runners were in for a surprise. On the day of the race, a guy named Cliff Young showed up. At first, no one took notice of him since everybody thought he was there to watch the event. After all, he was 61 years old, and he showed up in overalls and galoshes over his work boots to a running event.
As Cliff walked up to the table to take his number, it became obvious to everybody he was going to run. Everybody thought that it was a crazy publicity stunt. But the press was curious, so as he took his number 64, a reporter asked:
"Who are you and what are you doing?"
"I'm Cliff Young. I'm from a large ranch where we run sheep outside of Melbourne."
They said, "You're really going to run in this race?"
"Yeah," Cliff nodded.
"Got any backers?"
"No."
"Then you can't run."
"Yeah I can." Cliff said. "See, I grew up on a farm where we couldn't afford horses or four wheel drives, 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 head, and we have 2,000 acres. Sometimes I would have to run those sheep for two or three days. It took a long time, but I'd catch them. I believe I can run this race; it's only two more days. Five days. I've run sheep for three."
When the marathon started, the pros immediately left Cliff behind in his galoshes. The crowds smiled because Cliff didn't even run correctly. Instead of running, he appeared to run leisurely, shuffling forward like an amateur.
Now, the 61-year-old potato farmer from Beech Forest , who took out his teeth when he ran because they rattled, had started the ultra-tough race with world-class athletes. All over Australia, people who watched the live telecast kept on praying that someone would stop this crazy old man from running because everyone believed he'll die before even getting halfway across Sydney.
Professional athletes knew for certain that it took about 7 days to finish this race, and that in order to compete, you would need to run 18 hours and sleep 6 hours. The thing is, Cliff Young did not know that!
When the morning news of the race was aired, people were in for another big surprise. Cliff was still in the race and had jogged all night down to a city called Mittagong.
Apparently, Cliff did not stop after the first day. Although he was still far behind the world-class athletes, he kept on running. He even had the time to wave to spectators who watched the event by the highways.
He kept running. Every night he got just a little bit closer to the leading pack. By the last night, he passed all of the other athletes. By the last day, he was way in front of them.
Not only did he run the Melbourne to Sydney race at age 61, without dying; he won first place, breaking the race record by 9 hours and became a national hero! The nation fell in love with the 61-year-old potato farmer who came out of nowhere to defeat the world's best long distance runners. He finished the 875-kilometre race in 5 days, 15 hours and 4 minutes.
Not knowing that he was supposed to sleep during the race, he said when he was running, he imagined that he was chasing sheep and trying to outrun a storm.
When Cliff was awarded the first prize of $10,000, he said he did not know there was a prize and insisted that he had not entered for the money.
He said, "There're five other runners still out there doing it tougher than me," and he gave them $2,000 each. He did not keep a single cent for himself. That single act endeared him to all of Australia.
His story of perseverance doesn't end there though -
In the following year, Cliff Young entered the same race and won 7th place. During the race, his hip popped out of the joint socket, his knee played up and he endured shin splints. But that didn't deter him from finishing the race. When he was announced as the winner for most courageous runner and presented with a Mitsubishi Colt, he said, "I didn't do it near as tough as Bob McIlwaine. Here, Bob, you have the car," and gave the keys to him.
It was said that Cliff Young never kept a single prize. People gave him watches, because he never had one. He would thank them because he did not want to hurt their feelings, but will then give it away to the first child he saw. He did not understand why he would need a watch because, he said, he knew when it was daylight, when it was dark, and when he was hungry.
Cliff Young, the running legend passed away on November 2, 2003. He was 81.
Today, the "Young-shuffle" has been adopted by ultra-marathon runners because it is considered more energy-efficient. At least three champions of the Sydney to Melbourne race have used the shuffle to win their races.
Cliff was a humble, average man, who undertook an extraordinary feat and became a national sensation. Cliff's awesome example of perseverance and generosity will be remembered for generations to come.
I'd like to dedicate this story of perseverance to the one MEDA staff person who models this for us - Julie Redfern (perseverance in cycling and engagement)
Between the years 1983 and 1991, Australia hosted an 875-kilometer endurance racing from Sydney to Melbourne – considered at the time to be the world's longest and toughest ultra-marathon. It's a race that takes a week and normally participated by world-class athletes who train specially for the event. Backed by big names in sports like Nike, these athletes are mostly, less than 30 year old men and women, equipped with the most expensive sponsored training outfits and shoes.
In 1983, these top class runners were in for a surprise. On the day of the race, a guy named Cliff Young showed up. At first, no one took notice of him since everybody thought he was there to watch the event. After all, he was 61 years old, and he showed up in overalls and galoshes over his work boots to a running event.
As Cliff walked up to the table to take his number, it became obvious to everybody he was going to run. Everybody thought that it was a crazy publicity stunt. But the press was curious, so as he took his number 64, a reporter asked:
"Who are you and what are you doing?"
"I'm Cliff Young. I'm from a large ranch where we run sheep outside of Melbourne."
They said, "You're really going to run in this race?"
"Yeah," Cliff nodded.
"Got any backers?"
"No."
"Then you can't run."
"Yeah I can." Cliff said. "See, I grew up on a farm where we couldn't afford horses or four wheel drives, 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 head, and we have 2,000 acres. Sometimes I would have to run those sheep for two or three days. It took a long time, but I'd catch them. I believe I can run this race; it's only two more days. Five days. I've run sheep for three."
When the marathon started, the pros immediately left Cliff behind in his galoshes. The crowds smiled because Cliff didn't even run correctly. Instead of running, he appeared to run leisurely, shuffling forward like an amateur.
Now, the 61-year-old potato farmer from Beech Forest , who took out his teeth when he ran because they rattled, had started the ultra-tough race with world-class athletes. All over Australia, people who watched the live telecast kept on praying that someone would stop this crazy old man from running because everyone believed he'll die before even getting halfway across Sydney.
Professional athletes knew for certain that it took about 7 days to finish this race, and that in order to compete, you would need to run 18 hours and sleep 6 hours. The thing is, Cliff Young did not know that!
When the morning news of the race was aired, people were in for another big surprise. Cliff was still in the race and had jogged all night down to a city called Mittagong.
Apparently, Cliff did not stop after the first day. Although he was still far behind the world-class athletes, he kept on running. He even had the time to wave to spectators who watched the event by the highways.
He kept running. Every night he got just a little bit closer to the leading pack. By the last night, he passed all of the other athletes. By the last day, he was way in front of them.
Not only did he run the Melbourne to Sydney race at age 61, without dying; he won first place, breaking the race record by 9 hours and became a national hero! The nation fell in love with the 61-year-old potato farmer who came out of nowhere to defeat the world's best long distance runners. He finished the 875-kilometre race in 5 days, 15 hours and 4 minutes.
Not knowing that he was supposed to sleep during the race, he said when he was running, he imagined that he was chasing sheep and trying to outrun a storm.
When Cliff was awarded the first prize of $10,000, he said he did not know there was a prize and insisted that he had not entered for the money.
He said, "There're five other runners still out there doing it tougher than me," and he gave them $2,000 each. He did not keep a single cent for himself. That single act endeared him to all of Australia.
His story of perseverance doesn't end there though -
In the following year, Cliff Young entered the same race and won 7th place. During the race, his hip popped out of the joint socket, his knee played up and he endured shin splints. But that didn't deter him from finishing the race. When he was announced as the winner for most courageous runner and presented with a Mitsubishi Colt, he said, "I didn't do it near as tough as Bob McIlwaine. Here, Bob, you have the car," and gave the keys to him.
It was said that Cliff Young never kept a single prize. People gave him watches, because he never had one. He would thank them because he did not want to hurt their feelings, but will then give it away to the first child he saw. He did not understand why he would need a watch because, he said, he knew when it was daylight, when it was dark, and when he was hungry.
Cliff Young, the running legend passed away on November 2, 2003. He was 81.
Today, the "Young-shuffle" has been adopted by ultra-marathon runners because it is considered more energy-efficient. At least three champions of the Sydney to Melbourne race have used the shuffle to win their races.
Cliff was a humble, average man, who undertook an extraordinary feat and became a national sensation. Cliff's awesome example of perseverance and generosity will be remembered for generations to come.
Source: http://www.meda.org/connect/meda-blog-stories-from-the-field/personal-reflections/438-the-legend-of-cliff-young-staff-reflection-steve-sugrim
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
The lyrics are based on the last words of a man in Garo, Assam, north-east India.
About 150 years ago, there was a great revival in Wales, England.
As a result of this, many missionaries came from England and Germany to North-East India to spread the Gospel.
At the time, north-east India was not divided into many states as it is today.
The region was known as Assam and comprised hundreds of tribes.
The tribal communities were quite primitive and aggressive by nature.
The tribals were also called head-hunters because of a social custom which required the male members of the community to collect as many heads as possible.
A man’s strength and ability to protect his wife was assessed by the number of heads he had collected.
Therefore, a youth of marriageable age would try and collect as many heads as possible and hang them on the walls of his house.
The more heads a man had, the more eligible he was considered.
Into this hostile and aggressive community, came a group of Welsh missionaries spreading the message of love, peace and hope of Jesus Christ.
Naturally, they were not welcomed.
One Welsh missionary shared gospel & a man, his wife, and two children believed in Jesus.
This man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christ.
Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers.
He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution.
Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man instantly composed a song which became famous down the years.
He said:
"I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back."
Enraged at the refusal of the man, the chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two children.
As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you deny your faith? You have lost both your children. You will lose your wife too.”
But the man said these words in reply:
"Though no one joins me, still I will follow. No turning back, no turning back."
The chief was beside himself with fury and ordered his wife to be arrowed down.
In a moment she joined her two children in death.
Now he asked for the last time, “I will give you one more opportunity to deny your faith and live.”
In the face of death the man said the final memorable lines:
"The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back, no turning back."
He was shot dead like the rest of his family. But with their deaths, a miracle took place.
The chief who had ordered the killings was moved by the faith of the man.
He wondered, “Why should this man, his wife and two children die for a Man who lived in a far-away land on another continent some 2,000 years ago?
There must be some remarkable power behind the family's faith, and I too want to taste that faith.”
In a spontaneous confession of faith, he declared, “I too belong to Jesus Christ!”
When the crowd heard this from the mouth of their chief, the whole village accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.
The tune for the song was given by Sadhu Sundar Singh few years later when he stumbled upon some historical literature and read about this incident during one of his travels to the North East.
This is one of the most powerful songs composed by a man who gave his life for Christ, which became the reason for the salvation of the whole tribe. The tune given by a man who forsook everything in his life for the sake of Christ.
The combination of both these great lives makes this song filled with vitality to generate more followers of Christ even today.
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