Cool Runnings: A story of adversity, Olympic dreams, and community
Ever wondered what the deal is with the hundreds of hardy souls running around Victoria Park on weekday mornings? This is the story of RunAsOne, with an Olympic dream thrown in.
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It’s 6.30am on an icy Tuesday morning in July. The sun hasn’t even contemplated rising yet and, arguably, the most sensible place to be in the middle of an Adelaide winter is safely in bed.
And yet, a group of easily more than 100 hardy souls stands, many huddled together in a futile search for warmth, arms folded across Nike, 2XU and Adidas tops.
Riley Cocks, bearded, slight, and slightly better dressed for the elements than most, cheerfully barks out instructions to the huddled runners, who snake on to the Victoria Park asphalt for a 3km warm-up before the day’s session.
On the other side of the world, in St Moritz, Switzerland, Riley’s partner – in life, running and business – Izzi Batt-Doyle, has just put in another day of high altitude training in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games.
It’s been a gruelling few months, characterised by 120km-plus training weeks and competitions across the European continent. She’s just “chased” her mother, prominent Adelaide lawyer Rosey Batt, around the lake, putting in some final kilometres before the Games.
Both scenarios, on either side of the globe, would have seemed the stuff of fantasy a couple of years ago.
Batt-Doyle, struggling with a persistent foot injury and accepted into a PhD in clinical psychology, had pretty much decided to shelve her professional running career, with the Tokyo Olympics the furthest thing from her mind.
But then the pandemic, as it did for us all, intervened. The Olympics were pushed back a year, raising the possibility of recovery, and a serious tilt at qualifying for Batt-Doyle.
And with time on their hands and their regular lives disrupted, the pair decided to turn their passion for running into a business. At first it was a small one.
And then it grew, and grew, and now it’s a community of more than 300 runners, courageous enough to brave the elements and the mental and physical challenges of the sport which Cocks and Batt-Doyle love so much.
This is the story of RunAsOne, and two of the runners who make it so special.
One of Izzi Batt-Doyle’s fond early memories of runningis crossing the line at the City-Bay aged just eight, hand-in-hand with stepdad Chris, after just having completed the 6km version of the event.
Her mum Rosey says she was a small baby, and a small kid, and – as Batt-Doyle concurs – she was a good, but not exceptional runner when she was young.
“While I was making state teams I was never winning races and at those national meets I was usually in the middle of the field, but I was having fun and always happy for another opportunity to travel and make new friends,’’ she says, at the time writing from her training camp in Switzerland.
“I think it’s why I have been able to progress through the senior ranks and continue my love of running as I didn’t burn myself out physically or emotionally as a junior athlete.’’
Let’s not be too modest about her success though.
Batt-Doyle made her first state team and headed to the Australian National Championships in cross country aged just 10, and has been representing the state at cross country and track and field ever since.
And while the 10k and 5k are her preferred distances on the track, she last year stepped up to take on the half marathon in Melbourne, crossing the finish line at the MCG in a record time of 1:10:16, knocking 45 seconds off the previous mark.
“I think I first tasted ‘success’ when I won my first national medal with a third-place finish at the U18 3000m Australian All Schools Championships,’’ she says. “After this season I became more serious with my running in my final year of school, and this ultimately resulted in the opportunity to take a full scholarship to study and compete in college in the USA.’’
After five years in the US, Batt Doyle graduated in 2019 from the University of Washington (Seattle) with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Psychology.
While there, she broke the school records for the 5000m and 10,000m, and finished 3rd at the NCAA Championships in the 10,000m. She also represented Australia at the 2017 and 2019 World University Games.
But as with all elite athletes, the stats, the medals and the personals bests don’t go near to telling the full story.
While in the US, Batt-Doyle experienced seven stress fractures in her feet over two years.
“This was one of the hardest times of my life as I was living overseas on my own,’’ she says.
“I was having to get myself around a very big campus during the middle of winter in a moon boot and crutches.
“Not being able to do what I loved and what I was in America for was very challenging.
“I learnt a lot about my body, cross training, and it taught me mental resilience and grit like nothing else I have been through.’’
More knocks were on the way though.
“After racing through a misdiagnosed injury I had badly broken another bone in my foot and after representing Australia at the World University Games in 2019 I did not run for six months after my 10,000m race.
“I moved back to Adelaide after five years living away, and while dealing with the adjustment in my life, also being injured and no longer studying, I was feeling quite lost and uncertain.”
Batt-Doyle says at this stage, she’d pretty much given up on the notion of running competitively again. But being out of the pressure cooker of the US circuit and back among friends and family, her running re-emerged as a simple, joyful practice, something she loved to do.
“In 2020 I found my love of running again and once local and domestic races started again, I found that I was actually very fit and soon I was running personal bests every time I had the opportunity to race,’’ Batt-Doyle says. “Still, the idea of making the Olympics didn’t even become a possibility until I came second at the Australian 10,000m Championships in January 2021, with a personal best of 31:43.
“This would have been under the Rio qualifying time of 32:15 but the new time for Tokyo of 31:25 was still a way to go.’’
Riley Cocks was overseeing most of her training by this stage, and in March 2021 Batt-Doyle shocked herself with a 15.11 for the 5k in Melbourne, missing the automatic qualifying time for the Olympics by an agonising one second.
“I had broken the SA state record in December 2020, improving my PB from 15:41 to 15:26 but this run had really put me in contention to make the Olympics,’’ she says.
“Two months later I travelled to Europe where I ran my Olympic qualifier, running 15:04, winning my race in the Netherlands. It all fell into place for me and was a fairytale season.
“Covid was definitely a silver lining for me as if the Games had gone ahead in 2020, I wouldn’t be an Olympian now.’’
Competing in the Olympics – and this year’s Commonwealth Games where she placed eighth in both the 10km and 5km races – is naturally every runner’s dream, and while Batt-Doyle is proud of her performance, like every elite athlete she’s also one of her own harshest critics.
“After a dream season and making it to the absolute pinnacle of sport I expected to be able to lift to another level and have my best day ever at the Olympics.
“I went in ranked 28th and I finished in 28th. In the sweltering heat and humidity of Tokyo I ran 15:21, outside my current personal best but what would have been a personal best just four months before.
“In hindsight I was too hard on myself, but at the time I was disappointed and left the Games feeling deflated.
“Looking back on it I ran my absolute best on the day and I am proud of myself.”
Coming back from the Games, when Covid lockdowns and travel restrictions were still in full force, was also difficult, with Batt-Doyle pretty much heading back to Australia and into hotel quarantine.
But these days, she can always be safe in the knowledge that when she does return from competing overseas, her faithful cheer squad will be here to welcome her back – the same RunAsOne crew who got up at 3 in the morning to watch her compete in Birmingham, and who she inspires with her good cheer and shining example on the track.
Victoria Park is hallowed ground for Cocks. It’s the place where, aged just 11, he had one of his early wins, vindication for missing selection for the state cross country team the year before.
“In the car on the way there we were listening to the Arctic Monkeys’ (I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor) new album and I still get nervous listening to that song today,’’ he says. “I finished 7th or 8th the year before in 10 year olds (the first opportunity to represent SA at the nationals) and then 3rd or 4th at the second trial, ultimately missing the team by one spot which I was quite upset by.
“To come out the next year and win in a sprint finish at Victoria Park (when it was a horse track) in front of probably 3000-plus people (there were 300 kids in my race) was a really memorable moment.”
Cocks and his older brother Jacob – also an elite athlete and RunAsOne coach – were talented runners from a young age, with both having to decide whether AFL or the track would win out.
Cocks says that the personal fortitude which running demanded of an individual always appealed to him.
“I kept coming back to the fact that running challenged me mentally and physically far more than football did,’’ he says. “I enjoyed football but I found it easy and fun, I could rely on my teammates and it didn’t all fall back on me if I didn’t perform to 100 per cent.
“In running I was all on my own, the pressure I put on myself was far greater. It was lot more difficult to control my nerves and emotions and the physical exertion was a scary thought, which meant that once I finished with a result I was happy with, ultimately the sense of achievement was far greater too.’’
Early inspirations include watching Craig Mottram perform in the 5000m in the 2005 world championships in Helsinki, Finland.
“Craig was the only person in the western world at the time who could compete with the dominant East Africans in distance running,’’ Cocks says.
“He came into the straight in 4th or 5th place, which would have been an out-of-this-world performance in its own right, however he found a second wind and managed to lunge his way in to third on the line. It was very memorable as a young distance runner to be able to celebrate an Australian on the podium in the World Championship.’’
And like many Australian runners, he also draws inspiration from marathon legend Steve Moneghetti.
“Although he is arguably Australia’s most complete distance runner from a performance perspective, I love the way Steve Moneghetti continues to be involved so heavily in distance running and in races of all levels after such an illustrious career; he gives so much back to the sport,’’ Cocks says.
“Closer to home, I respect Jess Stenson and her ability to inspire the next generation of runners.’’
Cocks says having his brother Jacob to compete with has also been a great inspiration.
“Whether it be backyard table tennis, football, school grades or Granny and Poppa’s attention my brother and I learnt from a very young age to have a healthy relationship with competition. It is second nature to us and we love winning but are not afraid to lose.
“At age 15, I came second in the Open 5000m state championships – a fairly honourable feat – only to be beaten by my 16- year-old brother.
“I understand it must be harder for my brother being the older brother – he is probably expected to be better, but I have an incredible amount of respect for how he has dealt with losing to me at times and remained a very supportive brother and incredible distance runner in his own right.’’
The pair also clearly have a sense of humour and camaraderie, crossing the line in the 21.1km distance at this year’s Barossa Marathon Festival in a dead heat, posting a time of 1:07.44. Incredibly that’s one kilometre every three minutes and 12 seconds – a pace even many good amateur runners are unable to maintain for even half a kilometre, let alone a half marathon.
Jacob also won last year’s Adelaide marathon in his first attempt at the distance, in a time of 2:22.44.
Riley, a physio, says while life naturally throws up other options and potential pathways, the ability to align his love of running with his day to day is something he’s grateful for.
“At times throughout my life I have often wondered if the qualities that make me a good runner would be better rewarded elsewhere but in the end running is what I love doing and what I think about most consistently each and every day.
“Other ideas may pop in to my head from time to time, but running is a major constant in my life. Sometimes as elite runners we may get our backs up about not getting the accolades, support and financial incentive for the time and effort we put in to performing and the pressures we experience, but there are positives to being involved in a slightly lower profile sport too.’’
Back at Victoria Park on that frosty Tuesday morning and the squad of runners who started out in the pre-dawn dark are finished by 7.30am and drift off variously, to coffee, straight to work, to university, back home for a steaming hot shower, each safe in the knowledge that they’ve already won for the day.
The group started out as little more than a handful of runners who’d join Batt-Doyle and the Cocks brothers, usually in Victoria Park, for training sessions which put some professional expertise around what, for many – this author included – was a passion for running unimpeded by any real training expertise.
The group is a melange of abilities, body types, ages and professions. Lawyers stand side-by-side with schoolteachers, retirees, students and one journalist who loathes getting out of bed in the dead of winter.
Elite runners who can comfortably sit on a 3.10 per km pace take their place next to those who are pretty happy with six minute kilometres, all likely to be cheered over the line by the infectiously upbeat cheer squad, junior runners Leon and Hina.
For such a highly competitive sport, there’s barely a sense of competition among the group.
Turn in a personal best at a run, however, and expect to see your name up in lights as the congratulations flow in on the RunAsOne WhatsApp chat group.
Over the past couple of years, the group has evolved from the kernel of a small business idea to a membership of more than 300, with slick branding, its own running merchandise and relationships with companies such as Adelaide-based sports drink company Prepd.
But for the participants, it’s not falling back on a lazy cliche to say the community at the heart of the group is what ties it together.
Early adopter Zen Zaccara – whose claim to fame is a 500-day running streak he pulled off as a personal quest to thumb his nose at the pandemic which ruined his overseas travel plans – is often on the sidelines taking photos as the group streams past at an event.
Both Batt-Doyle and the Cocks boys’ mums, Rosey and Helen, are group members, and the group can be relied on to get the troops out in force at most of the running events around the city and further afield.
They have also recently launched The RunHouse cafe and store in Norwood, as a base camp for the group’s long runs and a welcome spot for coffee, croissants and kit for runners and non-runners alike.
Cocks says running has always been about family and community for both himself and Batt-Doyle, and they sought to replicate that in what has become a thriving business.
“We know that running and particularly road running is a unique sport in which Olympians and every day punters can compete in the same event and cross the same start and finish line.
“We therefore had a vision that if we can all race together why can’t we all train together and that is where we came up with the name and concept of RunAsOne.
“We have both worn the hat of many different roles in the short time of RunAsOne but continue to be passionate about providing a welcoming and supportive culture for new members while continuing to provide the same level of service to our existing runners as the group continues to grow.”
And for Batt-Doyle, it’s meant hundreds more people back home, glued to TV screens and devices, hearts in mouths, watching as she competes around the globe.
One of the keys to the group’s engagement, has been that despite the elite abilities of its founders, participation is really what is celebrated.
“We wanted to create something that any runner could be a part of,” Batt-Doyle says.
“We had found that running could be quite elitist and sometimes people were made to feel that if they weren’t a certain level they couldn’t take part.
“I am really proud of the community that is RunAsOne and my hope is that any runner feels welcome.
“It really feels like a family to me and it has given so much purpose and meaning to my running and my life.” ■
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