This past weekend, Olympian and American mile record holder Alan Webb visited Peachtree City for the Panther Cross Country Invitational. He spoke at a dinner at Heritage Christian Church on Friday, September 5, and started races, signed autographs and handed out awards at the meet on Saturday, September 6.

At the dinner, Webb told his story from avid swimmer to US high school mile record holder (3:53.43) to 2004 Olympian to US mile record holder (3:46.91). His American mile record is the eighth fastest mile time ever. The audience got to watch both of his record-breaking mile races online, the first at the 2001 Prefontaine Classic and the second at a 2007 meet in Brasschaat, Belgium. He also gave advice to young athletes, especially runners. Here are the tips he presented in his powerpoint presentation and speech at the dinner:

1. “Fall in love with the process of improving.” Webb talked about how he fell in love with this process as he progressed in his athletic career. As a kid who swam in the summer, he pushed himself to match the times of his friends. When he became a competitive runner in high school, he pushed himself against local rivals and then national rivals such as Dathan Ritzenhein and Ryan Hall at large races such as Foot Locker Nationals and New Balance Nationals.
2. “You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.” Webb has endured numerous injuries and other obstacles on his path to running success and fame. He said that his best competitive seasons often came after his worst ones, so his setbacks served to inspire and push him.
3. “Coach Frank Gagliano (Gags) said you gotta run to get better.” For runners, Webb stressed how the best thing to do is to run. Run short, run long, run fast, run easy, just run. In order to improve at anything, practice and hard work are essential.
4. “Workouts are only as good as your ability to recover from them.” Webb had an key point to make about recovery. Even though competitive and recreational athletes can train tough, the recovery after the workout is just as important, if  not more important, than the training itself. He recommended paying close attention to the recovery process with stretching, cool downs and ice baths.
5. “Go to bed.” This point relates to Webb’s beliefs about recovery. Webb said to strive for eight to nine hours of sleep a night for high schoolers in order to rest the body and the mind sufficiently.
6. “Good things happen when you go for it.” Webb related this quote to competing with emotional energy. At the end of the day and especially in professional running, it comes down to how much one wants it. In the big races, runners have to push past their own boundaries to accomplish the extraordinary. Webb himself came up with this quote, and he has lived it numerous times with his multitude of record-breaking performances.
7. “Substitute some activities to rest.” Webb said that as a high schooler, he had to be smart about his priorities. He often substituted some activities, such as going to a movie or a football game, to ensure that he rested enough from a workout or rested enough to prepare for a workout the next day. Webb said to consider such decisions as substitutes, not sacrifices.
8. “Enter through the narrow gate.” This point was the last one Webb left his audience with. He said he wanted to inspire them to take the road less traveled by, the hard road, because often the most difficult route is the one that is the most rewarding and the one that will bring the most long-lived success.

Nowadays, Alan Webb is transitioning to a career as a professional triathlete while enjoying time with his wife, Julie, and their 2-year-old daughter, Joanie.