In 1983, Australia hosted its ultramarathon, a 573.7-mile foot race from Sydney to Melbourne. Shortly before the race began, a 61-year-old farmer, Cliff Young, wearing overalls and rubber shoes, walked up to the registration table and requested to enter the race. The people at the registration table thought it was a joke. But Cliff Young said, “No, I’d really like to run.”

Cliff Young walked over to the start of the race. The crowd laughed. They laughed even more when the race began, because all those professional runners had athletic bodies and beautiful strides, but not Cliff Young. He ran with an awkward shuffle. All through the crowd people were laughing, and finally, someone called out, “Get that old fool off the track!”

But they didn’t know the training that had gone into Young’s 61 years on his farm. Since he was a young boy, he had looked after sheep in his overalls and gumboots, a task that might take him days to complete, he told reporters back then:

“See, I grew up on a farm where we couldn’t afford horses or tractors, and the whole time I was growing up, whenever the storms would strike, I’d have to go out and get hold of the sheep. We had 2,000 sheep on 2,000 acres. Sometimes I would have to run those sheep for two or three days. It took a long time, but I’d always catch them. I believe I can run this race.”

Five days, 14 hours, and four minutes later, at 1:25 am, Cliff Young shuffled across the finish line of the 573.7-mile ultramarathon. He had won the race. The second-place runner was ten hours behind him. The press was wondering what kind of special running shoes he must have had, and they searched through his bag wondering what he’d survived on—he had lived primarily on pumpkin seeds and water—and then they discovered the secret to his success: Cliff Young had shuffled his way to victory without ever sleeping. The other runners would run for 18 hours straight, and then stop and sleep for six hours. He endured running five days, 14 hours, and four minutes at the age of 61.

There is a lesson for us in this story. It is not to quit, but rather persevere until the end. Or as Cliff Young said: start running, keep running, and keep on running until you reach the finish line. You may even be abrupt in your gumshoes and awkward in your stride. You may be old. The crowd may ridicule and taunt. Our goal is not the admiration of men. So, get started and keep on going. Anyone can start strong but the prize only is awarded to those who finish the race.

Young was as humble in victory as he was in life; he shared his reward of $10,000 with his fellow competitors.

Young proved that any race in the life is not won by sheer talent but by sheer focus, sheer hard work, humility, eyes on the finish line instead of the hurdles.