It can be disheartening at times, especially when the realization that goals such as world records, sub 4 miles, and olympic medals may only ever be realized by those with genetics on their side.
Of course, true runners never let this stop them from running, we continue to train and run. We know there is more to running than records and glory. However, I think I can safely say that there are always those moments when these fantasies creep into our minds, and we see ourselves breaking a county record or smashing a PR. That is arguably half the reason we continue to run day after day after day.
Now let me get to my point. I think we all know who Brian Sell is or at least heard of him, He stands to the far right of hall and ritz on the websites photo.
Sell is different from Hall and Ritz though. Hall and Ritz were both great atheletes from the start, taking Highschool Cross Country by storm on a national level and boasting some sick PR's in there early years. They are without doubt very naturally talented runners.
Sell, on the other hand, Boasts A modest Highschool 3200m pr of 10:06. Not bad, but lets face it, its nowhere near the times Ritz, Hall, puskedra, webb, fernandez, (etc) put up in highschool. Not even in the same ballpark.
And yet, we see Sell standing proudly next to his fellow olympians today. And my question is, do you believe that Sell proves that with hard work it is possible to make the olympics despite lacking natural talent? Or do you believe that Sell is Naturally talented, and he simply did not work very hard during highschool, masking his potential from the public eye.
Brian Sell, Hard work, or Talent?