Here’s A Quick Story About A Comeback.
Twelve months ago, Ray—60ish—probably held a fairly similar health status to plenty of Aussie blokes his age.
A few body parts were starting to rust. The doctors were getting a little edgy about a few numbers.
And Ray himself had started wondering what the next 20 or 30 years might look like physically.
Meet Big Ray
In Ray’s words, he was around 25 kilos above his safe-living ideal weight.
But let me add something important.
Ray is a ripper bloke. A Snowy stalwart. Loves a chat, helps others and has a terrific family around him.
He was also an exceptional rower in his younger days.
The thoroughbred had simply been in the paddock for a while.
Then I Floated A Question
“How about we give ourselves 12 months and get you to the start line of the City2Surf?”
Fourteen kilometres.
Ray laughed.
Quite loudly, actually.
Then came that slightly worried look when he realised I wasn’t joking.
The race was never really the goal.
It was simply a marker in the sand.
So We Started Building.
And I use that word deliberately.
Ray works on the enormous Snowy 2.0 project at Lobs Hole.
Anyone involved in a project of that scale knows the story. Big ambitions. Complicated problems. Obstacles. Setbacks. Days when things don’t unfold quite as planned.
But you solve the next problem.
You keep building.
And you keep moving towards the finish.
Ray’s Rebuild Wasn’t Much Different
We weren’t going to reverse 20 or 30 years in six weeks.
We were going to build properly.
Slowly. Patiently. And with a bit of resilience when things didn’t go perfectly.
For the first three months, that meant walking.
Easy, short walks—many of them on a fairly boring treadmill while working away at Lobs Hole.
Practice. Not Training.
Nothing Instagram-worthy.
No heroic sessions.
Just lots of repeatable practice.
As Ray became fitter, lighter and his body allowed, we introduced some walk-and-shuffle.
For those old enough to remember him—think Cliff Young.
Nothing pretty. Beautifully effective.
And Then Ray Became A Runner...
Which meant he eventually experienced what nearly every runner experiences.
So Ray learnt another important part of becoming an athlete.
Rest. Recover. Rehab. Return.
You don’t panic.
You don’t throw the project away.
You fix what needs fixing—and start building again.
Then race day arrived.
And Big Ray was standing on the start line.
Twenty Kilos Lighter
A substantially fitter and around 20-kilo-lighter Ray stood nervously waiting for the City2Surf start.
His apprehension had been roaring all week.
Mostly between his ears.
His body was ready.
His head just hadn’t received the memo yet.
Then... BANG!
The announcers were roaring.
AC/DC’s Thunderstruck was belting out.
And Big Ray was off.
Our race plan was ridiculously simple.
No Heroics Required
Heartbreak Hill included.
No trying to impress anyone halfway up a climb.
Protect the body.
Protect the fitness you have spent twelve months building.
Keep moving forward.
Ray absolutely nailed it.
Ray’s 14 Kilometres In 20 Seconds
From nervous start to Bondi finish
Around twelve months of work—compressed into twenty seconds.
And Then He Finished.
Ray crossed the City2Surf finish line comfortably inside the time he had thought might be possible.
And with it came one of those wonderful sporting moments that has absolutely nothing to do with winning.
And one extremely proud trainer standing beside him.
And Apparently Fame Followed
Ray even hung around afterwards to sign a few autographs.
Well...
That’s his version of events anyway.
I’m happy to run with it.
The medal is lovely.
But the medal isn’t really the story.
The Rebuild Is.
Most importantly, Ray now has a very different picture in his head of what the next 20 or 30 years might look like.
And that is the bit I reckon matters.
Big Builds Are Rarely Easy
Just like the enormous project Ray works on every day, rebuilding something worthwhile does not always travel in a straight line.
There will be problems.
There will be delays.
There will be days when progress feels ridiculously slow.
That does not mean the project has failed.
Sometimes it simply means you solve the next problem—and keep building.
You don’t need perfection.
You need a plan, patience, practice and a little resilience.
Think It’s Too Late To Turn Things Around?
If the birthdays are stacking up and you’ve quietly started wondering whether declining health is simply inevitable, have another look at Big Ray.
There is usually a sensible pathway forward.
It may not be fast.
It probably won’t be perfect.
And it certainly does not need to begin with a 14-kilometre running race.
It just needs to begin.
Congratulations, Ray.
Enjoy the medal.
You earned every bit of it.
But more importantly, mate...
enjoy building the next 30 years.
Pampy