More than half my life, I've been running with the FWCC family. In my early days, I was little more than a kid who knew people passionate about running, and running fast. The coaches, my seniors and friends in FWCC have, over the course of a short decade, rubbed off on me. Track has become an outlet to pour myself into, a chance to escape into the rhythm of my feet and breath and heart. To me, running has become something of an exercise in meditation. To be fully aware of your body, and yet to subconsciously, through habit, move that body in a more efficient, polished way. To make thought, instinct, and instinct, thought.
10 years ago, inspired by a neighbour at the time, I decided to pick up triathlon. There weren't too many groups training for triathlons at the time, and I ended up training at FWCC. The training was tough, and sessions were always tiring, but what stuck with me was coach Fabian's insistence that we become not just fast, but smart. Encouraging us to think about our training, understand ourselves and the exercises we were doing, coach Fabian always sought that we applied ourselves to our training as a craft, not just as labour.
It made me a better athlete - I was performing in all sorts of multisport and track events.
It took me a while to realise that this wasn't just the case for sports. But once that piece of the puzzle clicked in my head, I realised that this wasn't a lesson in becoming a better athlete, but a better learner.
Since then, even as roadblocks stand in my way; schoolwork, a pandemic - the lessons I learnt and the skills I picked up from my time with FWCC have stuck with me. Now, I even assist with coaching in order to pass on what I've been able to gather with my experience.
I'm still improving, still learning. But it's with FWCC that I've learnt how to learn about myself.
