Marc Pelchat

I believe that in life you are presented with opportunities, good and bad. What we do with these opportunities shapes and defines us throughout life. I call these my Lucky Clovers.

My journey really started at two years old. My grandfather George Pelchat would take me public skating ever Saturday Morning, he was a former Ice Capades skater (Lucky clover). We would skate for hours; I grew to love Saturday mornings and the feel of skating fast. He would not let me forget the reason he dragged me to the rink each weekend. He was very particular on my education of edge work and how this made me a better skater. Fast forward to Peewee Hockey in Chelmsford Massachusetts and Mr. Cody (Lucky Clover). At this point I was a very good hockey player and people were quick to tell me. Aside from my father, Mr. Cody was the first person to challenge me to great and push me through expectations. Now at a pre teen age this was frustrating and somewhat defeating. But I took it as a challenge and every time he barked, I worked harder and slowly he barked less. As I continue my journey, I ended up at Chelmsford Highschool playing varsity hockey for Coach Fletcher. He like Mr. Cody was demanding but I had learned that this was because he knew I had potential to be great. We had an incredible group of players on those teams and it pushed me to not settle for average, because average would not cut it. So at this point I have had three major influences in my life that had a vision for me greater than what I could even see myself. They all demanded the best out of me and would not except less, I've learned how to handle those expectations well and use them to motivate me.  

Transition

Jump Forward to 1987, a turning point in my life my father had a stroke as I prepared to try and get an at large bid for 1988 Olympic Hockey Team. Not completely committed and somewhat lost in my mid 20's I had no fire and needed a boost. Along came Dick Ring.(Lucky clover), A local speedskating and cycling coach that heard through his son of this skater that could fly on the ice. Dick approached me several times to try speed skating, finally giving in, I attended a Baystate speed skating session in Waltham Massachusetts. Dick loaned me a pair of short track speed skates to go along with my hockey helmet and I was off. Well, the short story is I was awful! Most of the 8-9 year old girls were blowing by me, I grew frustrated but at the same time loving the challenge. I was awful, for the first time, I was not the best skater on the ice and there was nothing I could do to change it, or was there?  I got off the ice with everyone and they all welcomed me to the Baystate Speedskating club. They were quick to tell me about the upcoming meet in Pittsfield Massachusetts and sad I should come because they have a novice division. I said I am in! My swagger was back, and I let them know what I was thinking, when is the next Olympic team picked? They laughed, your 25 and your terrible. My grandfather, Mr. Cody and Coach Fletcher jumped into my head. Ok, I said I'm a pretty good athlete, let's see how this goes.

Well just so happens the 9th ranked skater in the world Patrick Wentland skated with this club (Lucky Clover). I quickly latched on to him and he graciously helped me along the way. Pat taught me how speed skaters train, technique and racing strategies.

Building Momentum

We move to 1994 A little more than two years from that infamous first night and it's Olympic Trials and I qualified to skate them. Its the first time they had a 4-lap time trial to get in and just happens to be my best event(Lucky clover). I went out there and finished 8th to get in. Ironically Pat did not, all they he did to help me and was on the outside looking in. I made the National team which allowed me to skate world cups but missed the Olympic team by a few spots. After a year of short track, it became apparent that my sprint style would not fit this sport and left to find Pat again in Lake Placid New York at the Olympic Training Center, where he was now coaching. Pat again came to my rescue with a belief that I could resurrect what we started a few years earlier. After a short time, Pat and I decided Long track would be a better fit, allowing me to be more of a true sprinter and focus on what I do best. So moved to Milwaukee Wisconsin bought a pass to the Pettit Center in West Allis, Wisconsin and started to look for who I was going to follow and learn from. I quickly became friends of a few skaters trying bridge that gap to elite skater status. Its 1996 and I am 28 years old, if I was going to continue on this journey, I needed to see some progress quickly. That January, the US Speed Skating team picks its team to go to Europe to skate world cups, I finished fifth and they take four. I had improved an incredible amount but fell just short. Then the phone call, one of the skaters, Pat Kelly, decided to retire and now I am on the world cup team.(Lucky clover) I took advantage of this opportunity to skate around the world's best and develop a relationship with the national team coach Guy Thibault. I finished that season off placing ninth at the single distance world championship. The following year 1998, I made my first Olympic team, 6 years after getting my doors blown off by young children in Waltham Massachusetts.

The following year, my coach, mentor and friend Guy Thibault left to coach the Canadian Speedskating team. I was without coach and felt lost again, I know a little bit about skating, but still so much more to learn. That season had one failure after another, some of my doing and some due to lack of support and I was pissed and frustrated. The Director of US speed Skating Finn Halverson set up a lunch with me to tell me that I was no longer invited to be on the National team and that I should retire because at 31 I was too old to compete. He congratulated me on accomplishing what I had and implied I that I had reached my potential. So, tail between my legs I decided to move back to the east coast and start my life after sports.

Turning Point

That next February I drove to Lake Placid to watch the Good Will Games and catch up with Guy. That night at mud puddles, a drinking establishment, would change everything for me. (Lucky Clover) Still upset that I was "forced out" Guy questioned me. Do you miss it? Hell yeah I said. Every minute of every day. You should come back he said. My wife at the time was not too keen on the idea. He said come see me in Montreal this spring and do some testing if you test well, you make a comeback and I will write your program for free. I said I'm in!  He then followed only on one condition....First, you become more positive. He followed with you're too hard on yourself and expect perfection. you have to be ok with bad days and bad weeks and keep moving forward to the goal. You have to be willing to live life by thirds, a third of the time you will feel awful, a third of the time you will feel so-so, and a third of the time you will feel great. Which brings us to the other condition, we are training to win a gold medal not make an Olympic team. Until you can say it and not smile but believe it, it will be difficult to achieve. Tell people of your goal, own it and attack it every day. Build on small improvements.

The next three years I became a student of how to be the best runner, the best weight lifter, how to improve my core and my nutrition, dedicated to the details on what I need to do. Every work out had a mission, improve and become the best version of me I can become. It was me against the world, failure was not an option just continuing to build. The improvement was amazing and intoxicating, I was dedicated and consistent and determined.

January 2002 Olympic trials, was sweet. I was told to go away; I was too old. I won those Olympic trials and made the team. Finn Halverson was one of the first people to congratulate me, saying I knew you had this in you. That's why I told you to quit. I don't believe this is true, but it was the fire that I needed and I used it to build a better me. Our journey sometimes is not clear but with the right people around us and passion to reach for that ultimate seemingly impossible prize, anything is possible. We are capable of incredible accomplishments.