By Alexander Gagnon

SWEDESBORO, NJ. (October 18, 2023) – When athletes find something that gives them a competitive edge over their opponents, they typically will do whatever they can to keep it a secret. In the case of high school freshman and national champion runner Ryan Duffy, he went a different route.
 
The 14-year-old is letting everyone know what it takes to find success on the track with his independently published book, “Unleashing the Champion Within”.
 
Duffy’s book is a response to the frequent questions he was asked about how he prepared for meets. As his answers accumulated, he organized them into the core of what his book became – a 74-page story featuring personal stories and training regimens. He hopes to inspire other young athletes to set and achieve their goals.
 
“The training is a lot of work, but I think it is worth the effort,” Duffy said about his routine.
 
It certainly seems the effort has paid off. Duffy has built a lengthy resume of national championships to provide credibility to his story. The young author’s eleven national titles, ten of which are in running events, speak for themselves. He has been a force at the AAU Indoor National Championships the past two years, running away with the 1500m and 3000m victories in his age group both years.  
 
For all the tough events he has competed in, the New Jersey native found that writing a book provided a new and unique challenge.
 
“I found it challenging to put all my ideas and advice into words and make it understandable for others. Another difficult part was not having set guidelines. Before writing the book, I would always have a rubric or directions to follow from my teachers to write. This book was completely different than that process because I had to start writing and putting my ideas down without any clear example or idea of what the book was going to end up like,” Duffy said.
 
He also added, “The book helped me realize that writing for a long time is very difficult, but the results are worth it, just like in running.”


 
His father, Andy, spoke with pride about seeing his son’s book-writing journey.
 
“It was awesome, many of the skills he uses as an athlete came through in writing the book.  He set goals, gave himself a deadline to get it done by, and dedicated a part of each day to ensure it came together,” Andy said.
 
The two have run and trained together for years, and Andy says it has gotten more fun each year.  Andy’s favorite section of the book is when Ryan discusses visualization.
 
“I think many athletes are doing many of the elements of training Ryan discusses.  However, I believe the most useful will be his discussion of visualization.  This is one element of training many runners don’t think is necessary or just don’t do it. I have been amazed at how close Ryan’s races match what he envisions them looking like. There have been races where he plans to be in a certain place or time at a spot on the course and the race just unfolds like he planned.  I used to think it was random luck, now I understand differently.  His visualization helps ensure the best possible performance,” Andy remarked.
 
Ryan’s high school head coach at Kingsway Regional High School, Daniel Murray, added in an article from the Cherry Hill Courier-Post, “It’s awesome to see a kid, especially at his age, who not only knows what he’s doing, but is able to put it into words. To be able to explain in detail, this what I’m doing, this is why I’m doing it. It’s really impressive.”
 
At only 14 years old, there is plenty more we could see from the young competitor. One of the main reasons Duffy ran AAU was for more opportunities to compete throughout the year.
 
“Just the fact that I get to race and compete is enjoyable. AAU events also gave me more opportunities to race. For example, my middle school did not have indoor track, but AAU gave me the ability to still race and compete over the winter,” Duffy said.
 
When asked about his favorite piece of advice provided in the book, he highlights finding the joy in the preparation.
 
“My favorite piece of advice in the book is about keeping training fun and enjoyable. If someone is running just so that they can become the best and win races, then training will become a burden. When training, youth athletes should work hard because it feels good, and winning races because of that training is just an added bonus,” Duffy said.
 
That’s an idea that translates far beyond just training, running, or writing, one that everyone can relate to in one facet of life or another. Whatever you do, find the joy in it and the results will follow.