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Why Die? The extraordinary Percy Cerutty, maker of champions.
This is the definitive biography of Australia's most enigmatic, pioneering and controversial athletics coach - best remembered as coach of John Landy in his quest to break the four-minute mile, and of Herb Elliot in preparation for the 1960 Rome Olympics.
- GenresNonfiction
352 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 19, 2021
Cerutty was a kook. Hard to understand for people from his home country of Australia, absolutely impossible for those from overseas. His irreverence and larrikinism, paired with his macho bravado and relentless pursuit of success make for a very Australian identity. Oddly, he would have actually been much better suited to America with their hero worship, less humility, and idolisation of success and successful people.
Part of why Cerutty is such a fascinating character is the era he was working in, at the peak of athletics in the Australian public consciousness, before the switch to professionalism both in methods and pay, and in the post-war period where the Olympics went from strength to strength. He was there with some crazy ideas or at least things that at the time seemed mad which are now commonplace. Weight training for athletics, periodisation, hill work, sand work, healthy eating (essentially a paleo diet), the jogging and fun run movement, self-help, health retreats. Cerutty legitimately figured all of those out for himself. The great tragedy is that if he'd focused on a single idea he could have gained the financial security and success he spent his whole life clamouring for. Instead, he was the jack of all trades, master of some, and financial benefactor of none.
He basically saw himself as a living experiment in his own methods but his relationship with the scientific method was strange. His deep anti-establishment feelings meant he could never agree with any science out of modern universities, although he would test things on himself. He also fixated on certain people and scientists. A believer in exceptionalism in people, he had a religious fervour towards certain figures and icons, always striving to be recognised among those he saw as his peers, Jesus, Paul of Corinthians fame, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Olympic Greats, these were the men he saw as equals.
Yet the world didn't see Cerutty as the luminary he believed he was and he was forced to hustle his entire life. Living on the edge, constantly chasing the next big thing and then the few times it did come to him, he blew it up because he couldn't stand to be stationary, tied down, or beholden to anyone. A truly bizarre man. His caustic attitude was both his greatest asset and his biggest weakness. His attitude bought him fame and attention but then destroyed all the relationships he made from it. People will forever debate whether the great Herb Elliott would have been equally good under someone else, and possibly he would have, but Cerutty's influence stretches further than Elliott (though not as far as he would like to believe it does). There are thousands of great Australian athletes who owe some degree of debt to Cerutty and his methods and dozens of world records that exist because of him.
This excerpt I think best sums Cerutty up.
"All men have a weakness: an Achilles heel, I look for it and judge men by the size of their heel, not the volume of their brain. Otherwise it is like judging the femininity of a woman by the size of her breast, or thighs. Ridiculous. "Be ye perfect" is a far better injunction and goal than setting up as an authority. Paul knew it: I know it. That's two of us! OK?"
It's a great example both of the nugget of wisdom in the first part, the ridiculous digression and analogy, and then the hubris/belief that he was on level pegging with great thinkers of the past.
I actually see a lot of Cerutty in current tennis star Nick Kyrgios, another Australian icon who has a troubled history with the media and the expectations of his sport and fame. One can only imagine how inflammatory and dangerous a Cerutty in the age of social media would have been.
In terms of the writing, this book is laborious and thorough, like a gruelling training session, I just wish it had have been more like a gold medal performance. Sims should be commended for delivering a balanced view on a fascinating but troublesome man. He was undoubtedly bizarre and there are definitely times you want to step into the pages of the book and punch him in the face (something he threatened to do and did do to a lot of people).
There are a lot of "what if's?" from Cerutty's life. What if he'd had more financial support? What if he'd been less antagonistic? What if he'd come to the business earlier in his life? I think it's best to say well then he wouldn't have been who he was. Though we've we'll continue to see people like him, there'll never be another Percy Cerutty.
Part of why Cerutty is such a fascinating character is the era he was working in, at the peak of athletics in the Australian public consciousness, before the switch to professionalism both in methods and pay, and in the post-war period where the Olympics went from strength to strength. He was there with some crazy ideas or at least things that at the time seemed mad which are now commonplace. Weight training for athletics, periodisation, hill work, sand work, healthy eating (essentially a paleo diet), the jogging and fun run movement, self-help, health retreats. Cerutty legitimately figured all of those out for himself. The great tragedy is that if he'd focused on a single idea he could have gained the financial security and success he spent his whole life clamouring for. Instead, he was the jack of all trades, master of some, and financial benefactor of none.
He basically saw himself as a living experiment in his own methods but his relationship with the scientific method was strange. His deep anti-establishment feelings meant he could never agree with any science out of modern universities, although he would test things on himself. He also fixated on certain people and scientists. A believer in exceptionalism in people, he had a religious fervour towards certain figures and icons, always striving to be recognised among those he saw as his peers, Jesus, Paul of Corinthians fame, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Olympic Greats, these were the men he saw as equals.
Yet the world didn't see Cerutty as the luminary he believed he was and he was forced to hustle his entire life. Living on the edge, constantly chasing the next big thing and then the few times it did come to him, he blew it up because he couldn't stand to be stationary, tied down, or beholden to anyone. A truly bizarre man. His caustic attitude was both his greatest asset and his biggest weakness. His attitude bought him fame and attention but then destroyed all the relationships he made from it. People will forever debate whether the great Herb Elliott would have been equally good under someone else, and possibly he would have, but Cerutty's influence stretches further than Elliott (though not as far as he would like to believe it does). There are thousands of great Australian athletes who owe some degree of debt to Cerutty and his methods and dozens of world records that exist because of him.
This excerpt I think best sums Cerutty up.
"All men have a weakness: an Achilles heel, I look for it and judge men by the size of their heel, not the volume of their brain. Otherwise it is like judging the femininity of a woman by the size of her breast, or thighs. Ridiculous. "Be ye perfect" is a far better injunction and goal than setting up as an authority. Paul knew it: I know it. That's two of us! OK?"
It's a great example both of the nugget of wisdom in the first part, the ridiculous digression and analogy, and then the hubris/belief that he was on level pegging with great thinkers of the past.
I actually see a lot of Cerutty in current tennis star Nick Kyrgios, another Australian icon who has a troubled history with the media and the expectations of his sport and fame. One can only imagine how inflammatory and dangerous a Cerutty in the age of social media would have been.
In terms of the writing, this book is laborious and thorough, like a gruelling training session, I just wish it had have been more like a gold medal performance. Sims should be commended for delivering a balanced view on a fascinating but troublesome man. He was undoubtedly bizarre and there are definitely times you want to step into the pages of the book and punch him in the face (something he threatened to do and did do to a lot of people).
There are a lot of "what if's?" from Cerutty's life. What if he'd had more financial support? What if he'd been less antagonistic? What if he'd come to the business earlier in his life? I think it's best to say well then he wouldn't have been who he was. Though we've we'll continue to see people like him, there'll never be another Percy Cerutty.
November 8, 2024
Percy Cerutty and his incredible story came on my radar a couple of years ago, don't remember exactly where. Since then, I had bookmarked books from him and this biography about him. Accessing books about him wasn't easy and had to source this one from a 2nd hand shop in New Zealand.
The one missing star is about the book being in some parts too wordy and boring but, overall, the author did a great job in putting together every piece of Percy's hectic and incredible life. The book spans Percy's entire life, casting light over his origins and upbringings, his transformation and his later accomplishments, as well as controversy.
I appreciated the fact the book has a lot of very impressive photos of Percy.
The story in itself is incredible, almost hard to believe unless it was true.
I highly recommend this book to anybody interested in an athletic overhaul of their lives, regardless the age or the sport.
The one missing star is about the book being in some parts too wordy and boring but, overall, the author did a great job in putting together every piece of Percy's hectic and incredible life. The book spans Percy's entire life, casting light over his origins and upbringings, his transformation and his later accomplishments, as well as controversy.
I appreciated the fact the book has a lot of very impressive photos of Percy.
The story in itself is incredible, almost hard to believe unless it was true.
I highly recommend this book to anybody interested in an athletic overhaul of their lives, regardless the age or the sport.
January 5, 2018
A thorough, well-balanced, entertaining and overall excellent biography on the extraordinary and eccentric, Percy Cerutty.
Most famous for coaching Herb Elliot to a gold medal in the 1500m at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Cerutty was a passionate and divisive character with strong views on athletics and life in general.
Along with his fascinating life story, Sims covers in entertaining detail, Cerutty's Stotan philosopy and programme, his training camp at Portsea, his beliefs and ideas, and the less-than-perfect side to his character.
For anyone interested in Cerutty, a highly recommended book
Most famous for coaching Herb Elliot to a gold medal in the 1500m at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Cerutty was a passionate and divisive character with strong views on athletics and life in general.
Along with his fascinating life story, Sims covers in entertaining detail, Cerutty's Stotan philosopy and programme, his training camp at Portsea, his beliefs and ideas, and the less-than-perfect side to his character.
For anyone interested in Cerutty, a highly recommended book
November 12, 2012
I was debating between a 4 and a 5 and decided on a 5 because I've been trying to find a copy for over two years to read and once I finally did I wasn't in the least disappointed. I checked out the book doing an inter-library loan which seems great for hard to find titles....Anyway on to the book. Graem Sims did a remarkable job chronicling the life of enigmatic Cerutty. At no point did he sugarcoat Percy's achievements, failures and flamboyant behaviour and also provided excellent insights of this remarkable man. If you are an athletics fan this is a MUST read.
December 8, 2012
I originally wanted to read this book because Bill Arias, coach of high school power house Fayetteville Manlius instills Cerutty's Stotan philosophy in his athletes. The book is a great resource for those interested in the evolution of running as a sport, and the history of track and field. Cerutty's philosophy will inspire you to train hard, and live a healthy lifestyle. The downside, is you won't learn anything you didn't already know abut training, and quite frankly, I felt Percy was an awful person. But my love for all things running, made it a worthwhile read.
February 15, 2013
Percy Cerutty certainly like to do things his way. And this included his style of coaching which made a controversial coach. He was outspoken, but he trained a string of champions. This book tells us of his life. Thank you Percy.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews