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Signs of the Times Australia / NZ edition — lifestyle, health, relationships, culture, spirituality, people — published since 1886 |
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Signs of the Times Australia / NZ edition — lifestyle, health, relationships, culture, spirituality, people — published since 1886 |
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In his new autobiography The Measure of Success (Pan Macmillan), runner Ron Clarke takes the reader on the journey of his life inside and outside his Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games and World titles. However, Clarke takes the autobiography seriously and nothing, it seems, is missed in his amazing life. He traces his family history back to the 1830s in Ireland, for example. In part this is done to show his heritage but also because he is a firm believer in the role of genetics in one’s abilities, especially sporting ones.
He speaks fondly and often of his beloved brother Jack, an amazing footballer and captain for Essendon Football Club in Melbourne. Clarke believes they both—although being determined sportsmen—had good genes on their side.
He begins with a tribute to Jack—Clarke’s hero throughout his life, who died of cancer at 68. The impact Jack had on his life is evident throughout the autobiography. In fact it differs from many such by sporting greats in that he touches on all the people who impacted his life, the more obvious being his long-suffering wife and children.
Clarke doesn’t sugar-coat his life or experiences—high or low—and isn’t afraid to land punches. He speaks of drugs in sport, and his speaking out in 1964 in his Sun newspaper column, when he was warned off the topic by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).
He is obviously still concerned about the testing measures claiming that “the procedures currently in place are open to sabotage.”
He is very concerned by honesty and integrity in all aspects of sport and life. He voices his opinion on Dawn Fraser’s AOC 10-year suspension, not for the sake of controversy, but because he was unhappy at her treatment.
But it would not be Ron Clarke’s autobiography if it didn’t tell the familiar story of his race against the now Governor of Victoria, John Landy, demonstrating the nature of sport and mateship of the era.
The Measure of Success inevitably travels through Clarke’s running career when athletics was not the high profile sport it is today. When speaking of his training days in suburban Melbourne, he says, “We had no coaches, no sponsorships (not even free shoes), no special facilities, just a will to improve and an innate passion for the sport.
“We were just joggers really, but we did go on to break every world record in the book for distance running.” And therein, perhaps, lies the joy of the read: while at times the history and detail is overwhelming, the simple joy of a man who loved to run is great to read.
Ron Clarke has an uncanny ability to know just the right time to reinvent himself and his business career. He became Adidas Australia’s licensee and manufacturer, became involved in a chain of gyms (Lifestyle Gyms) and was involved with Nike sports shoes coming to Australia. Add to that that he helped to establish Couran Cove Resort, Australia’s first “environmentally friendly” holiday resort, and you get the feeling that Ron Clarke has his finger on the pulse.
Of course with all of this comes money, and although he does not talk in depth about his wealth, he is obviously keen for people to become involved more deeply in philanthropy. (The royalties from The Measure of Success go to the Council for the Encouragement of Philanthropy in Australia.)
Clarke also speaks of his desire to get athletics revitalised in Australia—his passion for life and sport come through very strongly in the book. You are almost left with the feeling that your life has been rather uneventful—then you remember that the proceeds go to charity, and you don’t feel so bad!
Extract from Signs of the Times, January / February 2005 .
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