The Uncommon Gangster (Anne Audain)

“The key to success is consistency in training and a determination to give it your very best effort every time.”

When did you start running and why?

I was adopted at birth and was born with bone deformities of both feet which grew as I grew. They caused me great pain and I did not have a normal gait as I adjusted my stride to avoid the pain. I could not wear normal shoes but, thankfully, New Zealand’s climate is mild so I could go barefoot a lot. Surgeons decided to wait until I was a teenager and my bones stronger to perform reconstructive surgery.

When I was thirteen, they performed the surgery with no promises to my parents except they hoped to relieve the pain so that I would walk better.  When it came time to leave the hospital, they did not give me crutches or a wheelchair. Their idea to help me get the “heel-toe” motion was to give me leather boots with a wooden rocker. When I walked, the rocker forced me to use the front of my feet which I hadn’t used before.

This also was very painful but a great plan because once the plaster casts came off and I went through extensive rehab I discovered it was easier to run than walk. One year later I asked my parents if I could join the Otahuhu Athletic club ( a suburb of my hometown of Auckland New Zealand) . All my school mates and neighbourhood friends were members. Sports in NZ are administered in the club setting. As this was 1970, girls could only run as far as the 800m. This was the longest distance for women in the Olympics.

I discovered I loved to run and had success very quickly. I qualified for the inaugural Women’s Olympic 1500m in 1972  at age 16 and finished 9^th in 1973 World Cross country Champs Senior race at age 17!

Toughest opponent?

Myself and The Clock.  I was known as a “front runner”!  I never ran tactically. I preferred to lead and run hard. Part of this decision was due to my feet. They did not handle the “stop-start” of a uneven pace. I taught myself the rhythm of the pace I needed to run for a certain time and distance and raced that way.

I also wanted to know I completed each race knowing I had given myself every opportunity to win and left everything out there on the course.

 Most memorable race?            

1982 Commonwealth Games Gold Medal in 3000m.  Brisbane, Australia.
We had an amazing history on the male side with multiple Olympic medalists and World Record Holders, many my teammates and contemporaries. But until then, New Zealand had never had a female gold medalist on the track. I was the first.

I was also the first woman pro. I had been racing the roads in the USA for 18 months including winning the first openly professional road race (Cascade RunOff) in Portland, Oregon, in June, 1981. That resulted in an international ban for track racing.  Road race directors in USA ignored the ban but New Zealand athletic officials didn’t.

In March 1982, a special race was set up for me to make a record attempt. I broke the 5000m World Record in Auckland but it was not acknowledged due to me being banned.

I arrived back in the USA soon after and went back to the roads. I went on a great winning streak, also breaking many course records.

Around July my coach New Zealander John Davies ( Olympic 1500m bronze 1964) started to encourage me to race in the Commonwealth Games in October.  I told him I didn’t want to run track anymore and, besides, I was still banned from track racing internationally.

He told me he was sure the ban would be lifted in time and kept at me, saying I needed to do it for my family, my country, myself, as he really believed I could win Gold!  I relented, saying as long as I could continue to race the roads and he could fit the track training into the program, I would do it.

I flew to Australia with two weeks to go before the Games’ opening ceremonies and still a banned athlete. With one week to go, with me already in the Games Village, the ban was lifted and I was presented with my World Record plaque.

Race day was very windy and I was only ranked 9^th in the field. As noted, I liked to lead and was ready to do so. It was a very windy day and John came out to the warmup track and made me promise I wouldn’t lead! He was nervous for me and was also going to be commentating for NZ TV. He had also told folks he believed I could win Gold. Pressure!

In the 3000 meters you start on the 200 meter bend. You draw cards for the spot on the line and I drew Number 1! It’s a dangerous position as everyone outside of you will take off fast to get the inside lane. I needed to start fast to avoid getting boxed in.  I found myself in the lead and thought of my promise to John not to lead.

I hesitated, hoping someone would go past me but my reputation as a front runner was established and no one would take the lead. At that moment I decided this was my chance to dictate the pace and go for the Gold. I led the entire race, setting a new Commonwealth Record, a personal best by 13 seconds and – to this day – still New Zealand’s only female track Gold Medalist.

Biggest disappointment?

I wouldn’t use the word “ disappointment”!  Any sporting career has its ups and downs.  Frustration maybe? I have often wondered how I would have performed earlier if I had been coached by John Davies from the beginning. (My first coach was Gordon Pirie, British Silver in 1956) . I certainly had success under him but no consistency. For other reasons he also caused me to quit the sport in 1980. 

I joined John at the end of 1980 and never looked back. Also, the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles where the inaugural women’s marathon was added but not the 5000m and 10000m, where I would have had a better chance. I did run the marathon but didn’t finish. I was too inexperienced as I had only run two marathons prior. Again, that’s life!  I think I had some good innings.

What would I do differently? 

Nothing really. This is the path I was given and again I think I did OK!

Quote?  

My dad, when I first began to have success:

” Don’t get too big for your boots as there is always someone working harder!

“You are only as good as the next race you run!

“Be humble in winning and defeat. “

Song ?          

Bryan Adams “ The Summer of 69!”    This was the time I had my feet fixed, summertime in New Zealand. I remember being so mad I couldn’t go to the beach like we always did. January is the time all NZ is on vacation. And I had to be in hospital and plaster casts!

Favourite  Comedian? 

Too many!   Johnny Carson, John Stewart, Colbert. We need them daily to stay sane!

Best racing results stretch? 

Unbeaten from September 1981 to March 1983. Twenty-one (21!) wins; all course records.  All credit to John Davies and his consistent training program.

What was your edge? 

Being a Front Runner.  I have had my competitors say, they always knew they were in for a hard race if I turned up to compete. Here again, I credit John Davies for training me to have the confidence to lead and run hard and fast.

So, one OGOR says the ARRS PRs for him are all wrong. To be honest, I can’t even keep track of my own records. So all respect due to statisticians everywhere. That being said, just take a look at this career.

https://more.arrs.run/runner/1929

Then there’s this tale on Amazon.

Born in New Zealand with badly deformed feet, Anne Audain was adopted as an infant by a kindly, hard-working couple–a printer and his wife–who nurtured her and taught her that being adopted meant she was special because she had been selected over all the other available babies.

But she was a tiny child, shy and bookish, and with her awkward, stumbling gait, she became a special target for teasing by her classmates. Finally, when she was 13, the doctors felt her bones were strong enough to sustain an operation, and her condition was surgically corrected. Liberated from much of the pain and awkwardness for the first time, she discovered athletics at a local club and literally in a matter of months had become a nationally known runner in New Zealand.

She went on to run in the Olympics, win a Commonwealth Games gold medal, set a world track record, and to move to the United States where she became the first female professional runner, a Nike sponsored athlete, and the most successful woman road runner of all time, winning most of the major U.S. road races she entered from 1981 to 1991. Now a naturalized citizen, she is a successful motivational speaker and businesswoman, and is the founder of the Idaho Women’s Fitness Celebration, one of the largest women’s sporting events in the world.

The biography of Anne Audain is a fascinating, inspiring story for all readers but especially for women, young people, and athletes

Inspiring story also for old men.

Enough said.

So I sent Ms. Anne Audain a note.

Note said,

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I looked at that and thought –

“Boy, you’re some hot shit, aren’t you? “

Just telling the truth.

Sorry, my bad. But I am gobsmacked by the woman. Total gangster. I mean, really. Did you see those feet? Did you know girls weren’t supposed to run back then?

Really. Did you look at those times? Did you look at that record?

I did.

Audain At Bloomsday, Decker In Eugene