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A Runner Who Knew No Hurdles
was no time to keep thinking. When he thought of sprint events, he immediately went to Arthuer Lydiard, a well-known coach. At the time Murray met him, Lydiard was coaching a number of young men for long distance and medium distance running.
Murray Halberg
Without going into the details of Halberg's choice or ability, the coach asked Murray to join him in cross-country run which was a difficult test for a beginner. During that cross-country run, Lydiard was keeping a constant watch on Murray to find out whether running cross-country made any difference in Murray's physiognomy and whether he felt any fatigue in between the run. But what Lydiard marked was that while the race was in progress, Murray Halberg's determination to complete the race was growing. Nevertheless, as soon as the race was over, Murray threw himself into the lap of the mother earth. Notwithstanding that, Murray had passed the test taken by the coach Arther Lydiard.
It is true that his right hand being very weak and almost lifeless (wasn't it the left hand that was injured?), Murray did feel some difficulty during the course of the cross country race, but that did not make him despair. Lydiard's way of testing his tenacity was a tough one. He used to train the learners to run 100 miles per week. Murray Halberg was not one who would think of dropping out just because of the toughness of the training.
In 1956 Murray Halberg represented New Zealand in the Melbourne Olympics as a long distance runner. The readers
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