Sunday Times 2
Seizing the moment
View(s):The name on Jean-Marc Flambert’s t-shirt wasn’t his own. Above the number assigned to him by the organisers of the London Marathon was the name Rudy and just beneath it the line ‘God loves you.’ As he neared the London Bridge on April 24, every breath burning, muscles pumping, Jean-Marc found himself swerving to the right where the supporters lining the pavements were cheering people on. These strangers would turn out to mean the difference between his walking to the finish line, and his running across it. He has a recording of the crowd, who could now read his t-shirt, shouting his father’s name in solidarity with him – “Rudy, Rudy!”
Jean-Marc Flambert
Half-Haitian, half-Sri Lankan by birth, Jean-Marc experienced tragedy as a teenager when his father committed suicide. In life, Rudy was an electrical engineer by training and a visionary by temperament. A determined entrepreneur, he had a keen mind, deft hands capable of repairing everything around the house and a great love for his children. Though forced to live in different countries due to financial concerns, he would record himself on a tape every day and mail those to his son and daughter in Sri Lanka. Jean-Marc still treasures these audio diaries. But before his 20th birthday, tragedy struck. Jean-Marc remembers coming home from his job at the Mt. Lavinia Hotel to his mother’s grief.
At the funeral, he remembers people consoling his family, and well intentioned advice that he never discuss the circumstances of his father’s death. Today, Jean-Marc rejects shame in favour of compassion and says he cannot be ashamed of his father. His deep faith leads him to believe that God isn’t either – hence the t-shirt.“It’s a reality – mental illness is there and it is a part of our societies,” he says now. He understands the tremendous emotional and financial pressure his parents were under and suspects that his father struggled with some form of depression.When Jean-Marc set out to run the marathon with his father’s name on his back, it was an act of love and courage.
However, in the months before the London Marathon, it wasn’t a certainty that Jean-Marc would compete. Though he had begun his training, immersing himself in a 17 week course that would bring him up to the right fitness level, he found himself battling illness and pain. “The first six weeks were great. Then injury set in.” Running sparked agony in his heel, as a bad case of plantar fasciitis began to dog his steps. His old problems with asthma flared up. This wasn’t his first marathon, Jean-Marc tells the Sunday Times now. “I ran one three years back – just long enough ago for me to forget the pain.”After that initial injury, he developed a tooth ache and was asked once more to rest. By the time Jean-Marc resurfaced, he had missed sixweeks of his course.
“Do I quit?” he asked himself,“Do I try to run through the pain? Do I rest for three weeks and go into the marathon under trained?” He knew that could be dangerous – people have died attempting marathons for which they were underprepared. “I was very depressed,” he admits saying that he found himself praying very hard for guidance. Usually a decidedly optimistic person, he found himself thinking he could not possibly get through it all.Yet, he had raised LKR 1 million from friends and family to go toward a charity that supported terminally ill children.It would be too late for someone else to step into his shoes.On a more personal note, his two young sons Xavier and Kai were so excited to see their father run that he did not want to disappoint them.Jean-Marc decided to brave the course.
On the day, though he was in pain, he ended up completing the marathon in four hours and 27 minutes not just for himself, but for his family. The cheers of the crowd was such a tremendous encouragement that he came away inspired, embracing the idea that it was mental commitment that trumped physical preparedness in his case.
He is proud to have been part of the London Marathon, the largest fundraising event in the world and says supporting such a worthy charity is both inspiration and goad to finish the run.A kind of crisis expert in tourism, Jean-Marc travels the world troubleshooting for businesses and tourism boards. Notably, after the 2004 tsunami, he was sent by the Sri Lankan government to UK and Ireland to help woo the crowds back. He has subsequently served with the Saint Lucia Tourist Board as Director of Marketing UK and Europe and is currently Vice-President Sales and Marketing, UK and Europe for the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority. Now he says the lessons he learned on the marathon trail are applicable in business. “How often do we cheer each other on in life?” he asks, emphasising what a difference a supportive atmosphere can make.
He applies this generous spirit to his personal life as well. During our interview, his phone lights up with calls. That very evening he is planning a surprise birthday party for his mother Anthea– a celebration of all her achievements in the presence of their closest friends. He doesn’t want to put it off till it’s too late. “We need to seize the moment,” he says, smiling. -S.D.