Track and Field Blogs - Jack Daniels

- Focus on the task at hand; you have no control over what others are doing in any race, but you do have control over what you are doing, so run smart.

- When my runners are getting ready for an important race, I always tell them: 'There are runners in the race who are not as good as you, so make sure you beat all of them. There are also runners in the race that may be equal to you, and you can beat all of them because you run a smarter race. And, there may be some runners in the race who are better than you, and you should beat half of them because they run a stupid race.'

- Almost anyone can do a few great workouts now and then, but consistency is the key to long-term success.

- Never be discouraged by teammates who seem to be progressing faster than you are: Be happy for them. Some people improve at a slower rate, but may eventually achieve the highest level of success. I have a good friend who had a best high-school mile time of 4:34, and he placed 9th in the Olympic 1500-meter finals when he was 24 years old. A young girl came to run for me in college and had a high school best in the 800 of 2:39. By the time she graduated from college she won the Penn Relays 10k in a time of 33:01.

- The greatest part about participating in athletics is not winning some championship event, it is the fun you have along the way; the friends you meet and the places you get to visit. Cherish each day of training and competing and any rewards you may achieve, for do?