Play Like Hideki

This was a quick note I sent to the HOKA NAZ Elite athletes after I watched the 2021 Masters tournament. I hope to write a number of these quick posts on this site when I see something cool happen in sports that runners can learn from.

Humor me for just a sec and let me give you a thought I had after watching Hideki Matsuyama of Japan with the Masters today (that's a golf tournament by the way!). As many of you know I have long been a big fan of Japanese distance running and Japanese culture. I loved how Hideki played today (fearlessly) and it reminded me of how so many of the Japanese champion marathoners train and race. They aim for perfection without being afraid of failure. And that's a very unique combination. Distance runners often aim for perfection but they find failure debilitating. After enough failures, they begin to get tentative. And eventually, though they may say they are aiming for perfection, their words ring hollow and no longer align with their actions. Hideki, with the biggest win of his 8-year professional career hanging in the balance, and the weight of a nation on his shoulders, took the risky route by going for the green in 2 on the par 5 15th hole...and you know what? He failed. He flew it into the water, bogeyed the hole, and put himself in jeopardy of losing. Then he came back and on his final two drives...he piped 'em right smack down the middle of the fairway and won the Tournament. 

Let's keep aiming for perfection and let's never be afraid to fail.