WHAT AN INSPIRATION!

Last Sunday I was feeling tired and sore from the previous days run of just 25km at a gentle paced time of 2hrs 11min.

Thankfully I got pushed out the door and told to go to the gym.

I had no idea the Olympic men's marathon was on and I must admit when I first realised while starting my session on the rowing machine I was a little worried.

The marathon had started 20 minutes previously which meant that I had to work out for at least another 1hr45min because I would have felt like a real drop kick had I given up on a training session while these amazing athletes were battling it out over the precise distance I was training for.

Little did I know the treat I was in for. I was absolutely mesmerised by the ability of these athletes to run 3minute km's solidly for over 2 hours. At the 36km mark when Sammy Wansiru decided to put his foot down and absolutely blitz the rest of the field spitting out the 4 others in the lead bunch. Passing through the 35km drink station he appeared to give a coach a hand signal and them just as it seemed everyone was settling down again wham he was gone.

Before I knew what I was doing I had completed the longest session I had ever had on the rowing machine then proceeded onto the bike so I could hear the race commentary. I then found I was going as hard as I could on the bike just willing Sammy Wansiru on and feeling the best I had felt in weeks.

Wansiru is only 22 years old and made his debut at this gruelling event less than a year ago. He produced a stunning performance on a sizzling hot day to win in an Olympic record of 2:06:32.

Having no real affiliation with any of the competitors I was totally impartial just happy to watch but then at about the 28km mark one of the commentators said something that really changed my focus. Last year when Sammy Wansiru broke the record for the half marathon he donated his bonus to the children's centre his mother works in back in Kenya. From then on I was a Wansiru fan through and through.

In this day and age where so many top professional athletes are show pony's it is great to see there are those out there who still appreciate the privileged position they hold and give to those in need.

Even without the gold medal Sammy Wanjsru would be a champion and hero to those children and will inspire them to achieve greatness but most importantly remain humble when they get there.