He Called His Shot, Then Backed It Up

How Josh Kerr built the confidence, consistency, and trust to break one of track’s most untouchable records.

One of the most famous moments in sport is Babe Ruth pointing his bat towards the stands and calling his shot.

Josh Kerr just did him one better. In March of this year he announced Project 222, an attempt to break one of the hardest and most hallowed in sports, El Guerrouj’s 3:43.13 mile world record. Something that had stood for 27 years.

Kerr called his shot: “It’s time for that record to have a real go at it, and I’m going to be that guy to do it.”

Today, July 18th, Kerr backed it up. Running 3:42.66 to bring the record back to the UK, to join legends like Bannister, Ibottsen, Coe, Ovett, and Cram.

And the way he did it was impressive. Just look at his splits: 55.22 (400m), 1:51.06 (800m), 2:46.45 (1200m), and 3:27.6 (1,500m).

He had two rabbits that got him to 1,000 meters, but then had to make a long push home. And let me tell you, pushing for a lap and a half while you are riding the razors edge is HARD. During that push, his 100m split only varied between 13.67 and 13.88. Just incredibly consistent.

It was one of the most impressive performances I’ve seen. And Kerr has one of the most impressive mental games you could imagine.

Kerr’s M.O in his career has been confidence. It’s sometimes interpreted as cocky, but what it really is is a deep conviction that’s founded in the work. He and his coach, Danny Mackey, are methodical in preparation, and always keeping the main thing the main thing.

It’s one of the reasons why Kerr always shows up at the big meets. He’s got a history of coming through at championships when the lights are brightest. It’s so hard to do, and yet Mackey and Kerr almost always get it right.

Part of that comes from how they approach training and performance. They know what matters most: consistency.

“I don’t do crazy workouts or crazy mileage. I just don’t miss days. Consistency is my biggest weapon. I’ll break any athlete down with how consistent I’m going to be training wise and just getting the work done.”

They realize that the whole game is compounding. It’s not having one killer workout here or there. It’s putting together a body of work that prepares him. Too often at this level, we turn workouts into proving grounds, to show what we’re capable of. It’s easy to fall into that trap, both as an athlete and coach. Often, it’s the doubt and insecurity that pushes us to prove ourselves, especially in the era of strava and comparison.

“The way that I get fast is stacking. I’m stacking years, I’m stacking days, I’m stacking months.” It’s about winning the workouts. As Kerr said, “If you show up and put in the same level of effort regardless of how you feel, you’re winning every day.”

Putting in the work is step one. The second and just as important is: trusting and letting go.

Kerr uses the analogy of the work filling the cup: “If you can stand on a start line with a filled cup, you’re ready to go to war.” Then it’s time to release and show what you’ve done. You can see it in his pre-race talk. Yes, he’s after the record, but he’s chasing that feeling:

“That’s what I’m chasing with this record — full flow — like I’ve done every single thing I can. I’m now giving my body and my mind over to this experience. That’s living for me.”

On the starting line, trying harder is the enemy. If we overthink, try to force actions that are ingrained, we get in our own way. You turn down our impulse to overthink by trusting what's underneath. And that only works if you've built something to trust

It’s why famous sprint coach Bud Winter coined the term “Relax and win.” And jazz maestro Charlie Parker once said, “You’ve got to learn your instrument. Then you practice, practice, practice. And then when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.”

Kerr certainly let it wail. His similar philosophy could be seen in what he said before the race: his body was capable of the mark, so his job was “to have my mind be available to let my body do its job.”You spend years grabbing control. Then, in the moment that matters most, the skill is letting go of it. As Kerr alluded to, it’s not turning your brain off completely, it’s getting out of the way so you can focus on the task at hand and let you do what you’ve trained to do.

Kerr has some of the best insights and quotes on mental performance. But more so, what I’m thrilled about is that you can trust this record. I’ve known his coach Danny Mackey for almost two decades. He was right there with me in the hardest time of my life as a whistleblower. He put his career in jeopardy by stepping forward in the same situation. He loves the sport and respects it.

So celebrate this one. An absolutely amazing performance.

He called his shot. And got it done in the hardest event in track and field. Astonishing.

-Steve

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