A QUIET beer at a hotel one night with his coach Brett Robinson has seen Queensland beach sprinter Murray Goodwin thrust into the Stawell Gift record books.
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Goodwin declared that night 14 months ago that he wanted to win the Woolworths Stawell Gift, only to hear Robinson's response 'you're not ready yet'.
Turn the clock forward 14 months and Goodwin was definitely ready.
After winning his heat in a time of 12.13 seconds on Saturday, Goodwin said he was glad to get the first part of the job done. He knew from there that with a little improvement between his heat and Monday, he would be a winning chance.
"It's the first part of the job today","Goodwin said.
"I was just happy to get out and blow away the cobwebs.
"I'm just looking forward to Monday now."
Running off 6.5 metres, Goodwin was among the most impressive semi final winners on Monday. He clocked 12.07 in his semi final win and looked to have a bit up his sleeve. His biggest danger came in the form of Luke Houlihan, who quickly firmed into favouritism after he qualified with the fastest semi final time 12.02.
However, as steady rain fell throughout Monday, Goodwin said he felt he would be favoured more by the wet conditions.
"You don't get too many days like this on the Gold Coast, but luckily we had a few rainy days just before we came down, so it sort of worked out well," he said.
Goodwin was pushed to the line by Houlihan, who made a critical error in the execution of his final run which allowed Goodwin to make his move.
Despite Houlihan recovering from his stumble, he was unable to make up the lost ground, resulting in Goodwin winning the prestigious race.
Goodwin stopped the clock at 12.10 seconds ahead of Houlihan (12.27) and Brendan Matthews (12.37) in the final.
The 28 year old said the enjoyment factor through the finals was a big thing for him and his success.
"You can build up those nerves, but I really tried to just enjoy the day," he said.
"I knew if I could try to enjoy it as much or more than everyone else out there, we were a good chance of getting the result."
Goodwin, who is known for his dedication, spent a five year period away from the sport where he watched mates going on to greener pastures.
"I always thought I had shown enough potential to emulate some of the feats they had achieved," Goodwin said
"I used that as my motivation. If they were good enough then I certainly thought I was as well."
Like most Stawell Gift champions he raised questions as to whether he had actually won the final, but once that cheque was handed over, his dreams became reality.
"It is out of this world, this feeling," Goodwin said.
"I'm so lucky to be here right now."
After the race Goodwin reflected on a walk down the Main Street where he looked over the plaques, wishing that his name could be the name etched in beside the year 2015.
Goodwin has been the perfect athlete for his coach and after 48 weeks of intense training, he has completed what many athletes aspire to achieve.
Goodwin will now sit down with his coach and work out what the next step is in his budding athletics career.
Robinson indicated the 400 metre distance was what suited Goodwin, with the aim of Rio Olympics in mind.
Tim Eschebach, Tjimarri Sanderson and Dean Scarff were the other Stawell Gift finalists while running sensation Jack Hale missed out on the final after coming third in his semi.
