This biography is fascinating. A couple of years back I lent my copy and cannot find the non-returning borrower , so I must buy another one.
Here is a review; if you like eccentrics ahead of their time it is highly recommended.
And from wikiWhy Die? The Extraordinary Percy Cerutty
By Graem Sims (Lothian, 2003)
These days, many runners may not be familiar with the name Percy Cerutty. Some may know that he was the coach of Aussie Herb Elliott during the miler’s short but brilliant career in the late 1950s and early 1960s, or may have heard of his reputation as an eccentric. He was Olympic champion Elliott’s coach and was most definitely eccentric, but neither fact comes close to encompassing the truly unique and controversial Percy Cerutty. Why Die?, a biography of Mr. Cerutty (pronounced, according to the man himself, " ‘sincerity’ without the ‘sin.’ ") written by Graem Sims, is an intense and entertaining read that adeptly portrays the life and times of this complex character.
The main reason behind the success of Why Die?, taking nothing away from the author, is quite simply that Percy Cerutty led a fantastic, full life and was a character of the highest order. Sims devotes few pages to his early life, because, simply put, most of his "living" was done after the age of 43. At that age, in 1938, he experienced a health crisis that led him to completely revise his belief system and the way that he lived his life. Accordingly, he dedicated himself to mental and, more prominently, physical fitness.
As he ran himself back into shape with 50 and 100 mile runs and further developed his views on nutrition (he became a huge proponent of raw foods), weightlifting (he advocated lifting heavy and often), training periodization and running mechanics (he often tried to mimic the running form of wild animals, albeit on two legs), among other topics, he began to gain local renown. This fame, along with a dose of self-promotion—which he would never forsake throughout his life—and the many demonstrations of his theories that he held, led to coaching opportunities. He set up a training center in Portsea, Australia where his athletes bounded up sand dunes, lifted weights, swam, went on runs twice a day, and ate strictly natural foods.
From this starting-point, Cerutty, a master motivator, led his athletes to Australian national championships, North American and European tours, world records, Olympic medals, and various outrageous incidents. One such incident occurred at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, where Australian officials denied him passes to enter the stadium because, though he was a famous coach, they perceived him as a nuisance and a rabble-rouser—which he was. Never one to give up, he managed, with the aid of an old Australian team blazer and his considerable wit and charm, to not only weasel his way into the stadium, but to find himself a seat in the section for Japanese aristocrats, only eleven seats behind the Emperor of Japan himself.
Cerutty’s character and life also held more sordid details, such as his open disdain for female athletes and his often self-serving, jealous and violent nature. Sims deserves praise for including these shortcomings and other criticisms in such an unbiased fashion.
Considering the material that Sims had to work with, he had no choice but to succeed on some level. Luckily, his writing capably communicates the content, most notably during the suspenseful lead-up to and climax of the 1960 Rome Olympics. In fact, the straightforward writing style seems to be a necessary contrast to the density and flamboyance of Cerutty’s own writings, many of which are included in the text and aid greatly in the development of his character. And through it all, Percy Cerutty, as portrayed by Graem Sims, does emerge as a compelling and inspirational, though often frustrating figure.
Cerutty's 'Stotan' philosophies were a blend of Stoic and Spartan principles.
He introduced this approach to the athletes he trained at his Portsea, Victoria headquarters. Training would involve running in idyllic scenes, along the beach and up the dunes, mixing poetry and philosophy with athletics training.
Athletes training under Cerutty said "You came here with the object of running more quickly, and achieving the running, but really it was a education in life" and "You got a whole philosophy of life and attitudes" [2]
The new philosophy of life included the following tenets[5]:
* Only consumption of whole wheat bread, as flour was a poison.
* Moderate consumption of alcohol
* No consumption of cigarettes
* No consumption of water or drink with meals or following for a few hours
* No socializing after midnight
