Rachel Cliff - Straining & Striving to Tokyo
For the Straining & Striving to Tokyo Intro and part 1 on Liz Gleadle, click here
Rachel Cliff - Marathon
Despite hitting the Olympic qualification standard in 2016 and being the 3rd ranked Canadian, Athletics Canada chose to only fill 2/3 5000m spots, and Rachel was left off the Rio Olympic team.
Rachel admirably used this as an opportunity to re-examine what she could change in her process to put her in a more secure position heading into Tokyo.
Training became her unequivocal priority - and with that came countless sacrifices in her personal and professional life.
She had recently earned a masters degree in Public Health, but put her career (and the income that would have come with it) on hold so that she could invest all of her time and energy into running.
This also meant spending months on end away from home training and racing. At times that meant only seeing her husband for a only handful of days in 3-4 month periods.
Albeit grueling, the process was working:
Rachel qualified for all 3 major international championships in-between Rio and Tokyo.
She also smashed the Canadian records in the Half Marathon and Marathon (2:26:56 in March 2019).
She decided to pass on the Canadian Marathon trials in October 2019 (where the winner would receive an automatic spot on the Olympic team) so that she could focus her efforts on a race with a faster course and field.
Note that it is often only possible to run 2 marathons per year because it takes your body months to recover.
Nonetheless, seven months out from the 2020 Olympics, being well under the qualification standard and the Canadian Record Holder, Rachel appeared to be in a safe spot for the Games.
At this point, the shoe technology revolution was well underway. Seemingly, athletes everywhere could run faster every few months simply by lacing up the latest-greatest carbon-fibre plated shoes.
In January 2020, her Canadian record was broken and she slid to occupying the 3rd and final spot on the Canadian team.
She was all set to try to reclaim the record and a more secure spot on the Olympic team that spring by going back to Japan where she had originally set the record. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and cancelled that race.
She pivoted and lined up other attempts in Europe, but then those races got cancelled too. Then eventually the Olympics themselves got postponed until 2021.
In the meantime Rachel got injured and was limited in how much she could train.
She rehabbed, cross-trained, and relentlessly did everything in her power to be as healthy and fit as possible if and when another opportunity would arise.
Then in December of 2020, another Canadian bested Rachel's time at one of the first COVID-19 era marathons.
Despite having the 3rd fastest Canadian time ever, Rachel was bumped down to the 4th of 3 spots (due to the slower auto-qualifier from marathon trials).
It took her several more months for her injury to get to the point where she could even 'manage it' during somewhat normal training volumes.
Although she was able to prove some fitness in a half-marathon time trial, she ran out of time before she could attempt another full marathon (with updated shoes).
She has been named "the alternate" for the marathon team, but will not travel to Tokyo unless someone ahead of her drops out before the Games begin.
No matter how much any of us want to preach the virtues of 'focusing on the journey, not the destination,' JUST missing a once in every 4/5 year goal twice in a row - flat out sucks.
It has understandably taken her a few weeks to process this, but Rachel recently made a post to empathize with others in similar situations. She wanted to pay forward the unconditional kindness and support that she has received from the track & field community.
"It should be clear by now that I never wanted to have to write another post like this, but I think it’s important. I know with every Olympic announcement comes heartbreak - and for those of you going through that, I’m with you. Trust me, the journey is every bit as important as the outcome and I’m sending you all a virtual hug. For those competing, best of luck, work hard and enjoy the experience! I am genuinely happy that @athleticscanada has fielded a full team this year.
As in 2016, I am in awe of how kind humans can be to those in need. This Olympic cycle I gained a new respect for my body, what it can do athletically, and the importance of listening to it."
Thank you Rachel for role modelling resilience, authenticity, dedication and growth - especially when it's hard.
"Rachel personifies the Vince Lombardi quote “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” The path to where she is today both athletically & personally has been beset with many challenges. Her resilience, never-give-up attitude and the ability to quickly reassess & refocus her goals will continue to be key to her successes in both life and sport going forward."
- Coach Richard Lee