developed into an effective leadup forward who finished the SANFL season with 43 goals,

Keeping Eloise Wellings in one spot long enough to get her to explain her remarkable sporting, philanthropic and personal life takes some manoeuvring.She had been running all morning, as part of her weekly 130km training regime. The afternoon was devoted to taking her three-year-old daughter, India, to the movies. Gym work had to be fitted in, as well as organisational work for an international charity of which she is a founding director.A trip the supermarket provided an opportunity this day to detail how she somehow is able to juggle numerous important responsibilities to ensure her longstanding Olympic dream can be fulfilled.This takes time, as the Eloise Wellings story does not just incorporate the usual elite athlete script of determination, success, and a list of personal-best times. It also involves anguish, frustrations, manias, incredible willpower, unexpected turns and the most humane of ventures - in which the prime aim is to assist those who desperately need help.Of all the athletes representing Australia at the Olympics Games in Rio de Janeio, none can boast a busier, broader life than the nations representative in the 5000m and 10000m female track events.For the 33-year-old Wellings, just getting to the Rio starting line is an achievement -- as she has had on numerous occasions every excuse to give up this athletic caper as it was too tough, too unfair.This has been the longest of hauls. Due to suffering repeated stress fractures - 11 in total -- Wellings missed three successive Olympic Games before eventually competing in London in 2012.She first qualified when 16 years old for Sydney but had to withdraw, after being measured for the team uniform, through the effects of a stress fracture caused by an ongoing eating disorder. There were similar dramas surrounding her campaign to get to Athens and Beijing.Wellings often wondered during why she kept going during an exasperating decade she now describes as her wilderness years.Blame that on a longstanding Olympic fixation.Since she was a young child, her life seemed to revolve around the Olympics. In her bedroom, she made an Olympic podium from phone books and encyclopaedias. She would play the national anthem and imagine she had just won gold for Australia. Any game she participated in had to have an Olympic touch.The Olympics ended up being a bit of a childhood obsession, Wellings tells ESPN.I remember watching the Atlanta Olympics when I was young, and being so inspired by it -- especially the womens distance events. At that time, I had shown a bit of promise at Little Athletics, while my mum was a good runner.It was so important for me to watch Olympic athletes reaching the pinnacle of their sport and I thought I would love to do that one day.It got to the stage where I would do projects at school about the Olympics. I wouldnt play games with other kids unless it was named after an Olympic event. The other kids didnt mind. They just played on. They knew it was something I really wanted to do.The fact that it was such a massive goal and obsession from an early age played a huge part after having so many setbacks in helping me get back on the horse. As it had been such a big dream for such a long time, I wasnt going to give up easily.Missing out all those times before finally making it was heartbreaking. It was tough each time, but if I didnt have that Olympic goal it would have been a lot easier to just do something else.Wellings told ESPN that her problems emanated from an eating disorder that began when she was 13.I missed those key bone-building years when I was young. I was obviously training quite hard, was involved in a high-impact sport, and my nutrition wasnt adequate enough to cope with that. Eating disorders are rife through female distance running.Maybe I was a bit stupid to keep going, but the fact is that I love running. And time heals. I knew I hadnt made it, and that also kept me going. I had a really supportive family who were always reassuring me to keep going and maybe one day it would happen, and if it didnt, theyd be proud of me anyway. That was such a good message, especially when I missed out on my first Olympic as a teenager.The toughest Olympics to miss out on was Beijing because I honestly thought third time lucky.I was in really good shape. The only thing that was going to stop me from making it was injury, and thats exactly what happened. I dont recall any other time when I wanted to quit than then.I remember saying to my husband: Im done.But there was an upside. Through her pursuit to compete at Beijing, Wellings met the most inspirational of Olympic athletes, whose experiences saw her life change direction.In 2008, Wellings was at a United States training camp in Portland, Oregon, trying to rehab my foot in time for Beijing where I met the Ugandan Olympic runner, Julius Achon.We became very good friends, and he told me his story, which included being forced to be a child soldier in Northern Uganda.He was held captive for three months, and saw his chance to escape when a government plane flew over the rebel camp. He and 14 other boys attempted to escape, but were shot at by the government plane. Nine were shot and six survived -- including Julius.Achon succeeded in making the 300km trek back to his home village, where he used running as a way to get educated. He eventually received a running scholarship to the U.S. and competed as a middle-distance runner at two Olympics -- Atlanta and Sydney.I didnt make Beijing but that was more than made up by my life being transformed through meeting Julius, Wellings tells ESPN.A few months later, my husband and I went to Uganda with my parents-in-law to attend Julius wedding. That was when we met all the orphans Julius has been caring for, and all the people in his community. The 25-years of civil war there had left incredible destruction and poverty.When we were flying home back to Sydney we knew we had a responsibility to try to do something about it.Julius had a job in Portland coaching the best US runners. But when I met him that was coming to an end, and he was worried how he was going to continue supporting his orphans and family back at home. His story was the inspiration behind the Love Mercy Foundation.The Love Mercy Foundation has over the past seven years provided financial support to many poverty-stricken Ugandan families.One of our main programs is a micro-loan farming program called Cents for Seeds. This is having a huge impact, and is our main focus for the next five years. This year we are running it with just over 7000 women, where $Aus30 sponsors a woman through a 30kg load of seeds. Out of that she usually harvests around 150kg of food. She also gets re-trained by agriculturalists who do workshops. It is really empowering the women and families to create their own livelihood.She hands back the loan at the end of the season, so we can pass it on to another woman. With the rest of her harvest, she can sell it at the marketplace and use that money for her children education, as well as buying food and household items. It also helps with improving the persons self-esteem.Our goal with Cents for Seeds is to have 20,000 women involved by 2020. To do that we need to raise $Aus2million. So far this year we have raised over $Aus500,000, which is exciting.Wellings and her husband, Jon, a film maker and photographer, travel to Uganda at least once a year.Julius has a big cross-country day for kids every November, so we try to get over for that. While there we visit Cents for Seeds villages. When things settle down with my running, and I eventually retire -- who knows when that will be -- my husband and I plan to spend a good chunk of time over there; probably six or 12 months.Meeting Achon also brought everything into perspective.Being injured was how I met Julius and how we started the foundation. Thats why I can honestly say that I wouldnt take one of my injuries back. I have developed friendships and relationships through being injured, and have learnt a lot about my body.My faith is also important. I believe that God has a plan, and everything will work out for the better, even if there are times when youre thinking youre walking around in the dark.The focus is now on Rio, which includes several weeks of altitude training in Los Angeles. Wellings believes she is in the best physical shape of her career.I know it sounds as if I get injured all the time, but I actually havent been injured for five years now. So I feel my experience going into Rio is my biggest asset.I also believe I am in the best position Ive ever been for both events. I did both in London, and felt I underperformed a bit. We did cut back a lot of my training to make the starting line that time.We really didnt take any risks. And I knew that going into London there was a good chance I might be a little under-done.After missing the previous three Games, the London Olympics was also extremely emotional. I was at the starting line, looked up and saw 20 of my family and friends who had made the trip over. Rio will be a lot more business-like.Wellings finished 20th in the 10,000m and 30th in the 5000m.Im also a different athlete to what I was five years ago. Theres been a real focus on gym work and nutrition, using unprocessed food and natural vitamins like calcium, magnesium as well as ubiquinol to compliment my diet and energy needs for training.I have stopped putting limitations on what I think I might be able to do at Rio. You dont go into races to run fourth or fifth or sixth or seventh, or merely make the final. You go into races to win. Im going to try to get myself in the best shape possible. That at the moment is going well. I do feel stronger than ever.Wellings responsibilities as a mother have not been put on hold. Part of he entourage in Rio will be husband and daughter.India is very excited. Every time she hears the word Rio on the news, she says: Thats where were going. I am very lucky to have a super-supportive husband. I definitely wouldnt have been able to do what Ive done without him. I think we are a very good team. We are still navigating raising a child, but it is a journey were really enjoying.And what a journey.Eloise Wellings spoke to ESPN as a brand ambassador for Kaneka, the Japanese manufacturer of Ubiquinol. Nike Sb Dunk Mid For Sale .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. Nike Dunk High Womens .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. http://www.nikedunkscheap.com/nike-dunk-sb-shoes.html . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Nike Dunk Sb China . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Cheap Nike Dunks China . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. LeBron James has yet to accept the invitation Alexis Middlebrooks extended to him via Twitter to attend a Cleveland State volleyball game. Heres what King James missed last weekend:Middlebrooks combining for 35 kills in the Horizon League semifinal and final on a .353 hitting percentage, earning tournament MVP honors and, now, the espnW player of the week.Back-to-back five-set victories for the Vikings, propelling them to the conference title for the second straight year and a return trip to the NCAA tournament.Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. OK, not the actual Cavaliers stars (hopefully LeBron would bring those guys with him). But setter Gina Kilner is dubbed Irving by her teammates, and they call outside hitter Grace Kauth Love. The versatile Middlebrooks, of course, is LeBron.Alexis is one of the most driven players Ive ever had in this program. The bigger the game, the bigger she plays, said coach Chuck Voss, in his 17th season at Cleveland State. She was not going to let us lose this weekend, knowing there was nothing left potentially. She was probably only playing at 70 percent, but there was no way she was going to let us lose.Until this junior year, the 6-foot-1 middle blocker had never dealt with any serious injury in a childhood that included volleyball and basketball since seventh grade. But last spring sprained ligaments in her foot and a sore right shoulder limited her offseason training. Once preseason conditioning started, Middlebrooks thought she was good to go.Then I got shin splints and couldnt figure out what was wrong for the longest time, she said. From the spring on, it was one thing after another.Middlebrooks refused to get dispirited from all the issues, or frankly from any setbacks since shes become a college athlete. She was the first in her class to arrive on the Cleveland State campus the spring of her high school senior year, eager to begin her volleyball training. But Voss didnt recognize the player he recruited from Elyria (Ohio) High School who earned all-state honorable mention her junior and senior years.She looked awful at first, he said. To be honest, I didnt know if she could play for us.Middlebrooks had drifted from her fitness regimen without the routine of high school sports. She was out of shape and knew it. Insteaad of pouting, she took to the weight room and the track.dddddddddddd. The daughter of two Army veterans, shes a stickler for self-discipline, whether its diet or in the gym, and by the start of preseason, she was as ready as the returning veterans.I had never sat the bench in my life, so I worked really hard, she said. In the summer I worked every day with the older kids. I was the only person in my class here running and lifting with the upperclassmen, so that put me ahead.She was not going to be denied, Voss said.Its a mental approach she brings to the toughest of situations, even last weekend.Neither of the tournament matches last weekend went as scripted. Cleveland State surged to 2-0 leads in both only to drop sets three and four. Middlebrooks takes her responsibility as captain seriously and knew she had to lift her team in the fifth.Cleveland State prevailed 15-11 in its semifinal over Oakland, punctuated by a Middlebrooks kill on match point. The Vikings clinched the title the following night behind a 15-7 fifth-set after a 20-kill performance by Middlebrooks, her first of the season on a night when she hit at a .515 clip.Its a victory that validates a season of hard work, she said. I dont know that many people who work as hard as me and my teammates, said Middlebrooks, a deans list regular majoring in criminal justice with a double minor in communication and psychology Winning it two times in a row adds to our school history. We want to get to the NCAAs and put Cleveland State volleyball on the map.A year ago, the Vikings made the field of 64, too, though an unfortunate draw pitted them against USC, the top team in the nation, in the first round.This season with an RPI of 39, Voss said hes hoping for a better matchup in the national tournament.Were a physically strong team with of a lot of girls from Northeast Ohio, many of whom were overlooked by bigger schools, he said. Weve got raw athletic kids that weve trained up into really good volleyball players.Middlebrooks, an AVCA All-Northeast Region honorable mention selection last year, is among those. Just like her Cavs, she promises, We dont back down from anyone. ' ' '