If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years

The words of Emil Zatopek burn with the fire of endurance: “If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem. It’s raining? That doesn’t matter. I am tired? That’s beside the point. It’s simply that I just have to.” In this declaration lies the essence of discipline—not a fleeting burst of effort, but a steady flame that no storm can quench. For when habit becomes nature, struggle turns to strength, and what once required force of will becomes as natural as breath.

To endure long years of training is to walk the ancient road of mastery. The body may rebel, the mind may falter, and the world may place obstacles in the path. Yet Zatopek teaches that beyond the threshold of resistance lies freedom: when the question of “should I?” dissolves into the certainty of “I must.” Here the discipline itself becomes the master, and the runner no longer fights with himself, but flows in harmony with his task.

History remembers Zatopek not only as a champion but as a legend. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, he achieved the impossible: winning gold in the 5,000 meters, the 10,000 meters, and the marathon—all within a single Games, the marathon being the first he had ever run. Such a feat was not born of luck nor fleeting inspiration, but of years of relentless training, when fatigue, weather, and doubt were set aside as trifles. His victories were the harvest of a will that had long since been forged into instinct.

This truth stretches beyond the track. Warriors of Sparta, artists of Florence, monks of distant temples—all knew that greatness is not seized in a moment but cultivated daily, until discipline becomes the marrow of the bones. The rain, the weariness, the excuses—these are nothing before the one who has trained his spirit to rise regardless. In this way, will power ceases to be a battle and becomes the natural song of a steadfast life.

Therefore, let this wisdom be passed on: greatness is not in talent alone, but in the refusal to yield. To endure the long training is to free oneself from the chains of hesitation. As Zatopek declared with his life, the day will come when excuses no longer matter, when every obstacle is but air before the runner’s stride. And then, the soul will know true mastery—the victory not only of races, but of the self.