oxygenmagAU Jan/Feb 2018 95
B
orn in New York, long-distance runner
Eloise Wellings had her first taste of what
Olympic glory would be like while watching
the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games with her
family.
“I remember watching the distance running events
at the Barcelona Olympics on television and I said to
my mum and dad, ‘I'm going to do that one day’,” she
says. “Ever since that moment, there was nothing else I
could imagine myself doing.”
With a mind focused on reaching her goal, at just 10
years old she threw herself into training with her first
running coach.
“My training as a kid was purely short intervals, with
long recoveries,” she says. “Back then, I was focusing
on speed rather than volume, unlike my training
today,” she says.
“My long run for the week was 30 minutes back then,
but now it can be up to two hours and cover almost 30km.
“My level, volume, and intensity of training have
obviously evolved over the years as I’ve gotten older. My
body has gotten stronger and is now more able to deal
with the demand and pressure put on it.”
Not all 10-year-olds who make such declarations of
intent about their ambitions see them come to fruition,
but Eloise had the drive, talent, and commitment that led
to her reaching the elite level in her sport, where she has
represented Australia at the 2006 Melbourne, 2010 New
Delhi, and 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, and
the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
“I think part of the stress and the challenge of being an
athlete or having a goal is the unknown — not knowing
if your hard work is actually going to pay off,” she says.“But, in reality, I think life
would be boring if we knew
what was going to happen all the time; it diminishes the
need for faith.
“I think the ‘why’ needs to be strong enough for anyone
to push their body to its limit. Knowing why you’re
training will be your biggest motivation and will help
anyone follow the process until the end.”
Eloise overcame some personal obstacles in the
lead-up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, injury — which
included 11 stress fractures in 10 years — among them,
and she describes reaching Rio as one of the most
remarkable experiences of her life, partly also thanks to
one well-known Australian icon whose words pushed her
to place tenth in the 10,000 metres.
“I ran into Cathy Freeman at the warm-up track at Rio
before I went out to run the 10,000 metres,” she says.
“It was a great moment and perfect timing, because I’dThe run home
Eloise Wellings didn’t just
chase her dreams — she ran
them down. The 35-year-old
long-distance runner and
two-time Olympian, who has
also represented Australia at
three Commonwealth Games,
has maintained a sharp focus
throughout her career and now,
with the support of her family
and some inspiring words from
Cathy Freeman herself, has her
eyes set on the Gold Coast 2018
Commonwealth Games.Eloise Wellings is currently
training for the 2018
Commonwealth Games
to be held on the Gold Coast
from 4-15 April. She is an
ambassador for Ubiquinol
http://www.ubiquinol.net.au and
you can find her on
Instagram @elzywellings