Ryan haylock

As an ambitious country kid from the Yorke Peninsula, Ryan Haylock sought his way through every school sport opportunity available. He loved the challenge of pushing himself to be better, and he subsequently managed to experience considerable improvement in a range of disciplines. However, it was perhaps the unlikely sport of distance running that ultimately captured Ryan’s imagination. A simple act, that resulted in genuine joy at the completion of every lung busting attempt; it wasn’t long before he was hooked. Unfortunately for Ryan, the fairy tale start to his relationship with this new found passion was only short lived, and a stress fracture in his foot derailed any plans to chase some lofty personal goals. However, this was perhaps the blessing in disguise Ryan needed in order to seek some professional advice, and take his running to the next level.

Understandably frustrated by injury, Ryan contacted fellow Yorke Peninsula athlete and accomplished distance runner Caitlin Adams. Caitlin offered some great tips, but eventually advised that Ryan seek the guidance of Riley Cocks and Izzi Batt Doyle at RunAsOne Coaching. Lounging around in a moon boot, Ryan was desperate to try anything. He called Riley soon after speaking with Caitlin, and was overjoyed to hear the confidence in Riley’s voice, and feel a sense of reassurance that there was a logical path to complete recovery and being able to do what he loves again! As he got off the phone, he felt that familiar rush of motivation return. He had been in a moon boot for months, and the podiatrist had offered the prognosis of another three weeks of only walking. However, equipped with his resilient ambition, paired with Riley’s guidance, Ryan was determined to give any rehabilitation program a try in an attempt to regain full strength much sooner than that.

Ryan approached the rehabilitation program with excitement, and determination. However, he is forced to admit that he didn’t really know what the program actually involved. To begin with, Ryan was pleasantly surprised by Riley’s openness to seeking professional advice. As a health professional himself, Riley was able to work seamlessly with Ryan’s podiatrist to better understand Ryan’s injury, and construct an effective return to running program. Before long, Ryan was running again. Despite starting with a mere two minutes of running at a time, separated by three minute recoveries, no level of restriction was going to wipe the smile from Ryan’s face. Before long, Ryan felt comfortable enough to make the leap, and join the team at RunAsOne for his first session. Like his initial conversation with Riley, he was overwhelmed by the friendliness and support of his new team mates on day one. It was at this point he was forced in to the realisation that if this was a result of getting injured, then perhaps it was worth all of the struggle!

Now three months in to training with RunAsOne, Ryan continues to go from strength to strength. Balancing running with his professional life as a teacher, Ryan isn’t at the group training as regularly as he would like to be. However, he has the support of his wife on his home running tracks, as well as his brother in law Leigh, and sister in law Tasmin. This unconditional support, paired with his ability to seamlessly transition back in to the front pack at RunAsOne, fills him with confidence to chase his running gaols. At the recent Athletics SA 5000m PB Night, Ryan was able to lower his pre-injury 5km time a whole minute from 17:57 to 16:58! He doesn’t hesitate to attribute this result to the guidance of his coaches, and the support of his team mates. However, it is clear to see from the sidelines that this performance was a result of a lot of hard work, and commitment.

While this is certainly an astonishing comeback story, it is blatantly clear that Ryan is not about to become complacent. He’d like to run a lot faster on both the track, and the road, and to continue to enjoy the training along the way. His coaches cite Ryan’s work ethic as a pleasure to work with, and are confident he will get everything he wants out of his running journey.