OLYMPIAN Liz Yelling told a business audience how she coped with having four years of planning “stolen” from her at the 2008 games.

The Poole-based runner joined her husband Martin to talk about the mindset behind elite performance and about resilience in sport, business and life.

The pair, who run the endurance sports consultancy Yelling Performance, were guest speakers at a leaders’ lunch held by business coaching and development community Evolve at Bournemouth’s Marsham Court Hotel.

Martin represented England at road and cross-country running, won the national duathlon championships twice and has completed several Iron Man triathlons, while Liz is a double Olympian and Commonwealth medallist.

Liz told how she was leading the marathon at the 2008 Olympics when, 10 miles into the race, she was tripped and fell, breaking a rib. She finished in pain, running slower than her potential.

“It was incredibly frustrating and disappointing,” she said.

“Four years’ worth of planning had been stolen from me. I was really upset.

"But when Martin asked how I was going to deal with this, I was like, ‘If you really think about it, it’s just running. There are people in the world struggling to feed themselves and in much more serious situations that I am. Ultimately it’s a hobby, and something I love and am very passionate about, but it’s just running.’”

Martin said: “Whether it’s in business or personal life or hobbies and passions, things hardly ever work out like you think they will. The most important thing is how you respond when it doesn’t work out. Whether it’s something small at work or getting tripped over and breaking a rib at the Olympics, agility is about how you respond.”

The Yellings also spoke about the work they do for Dorset-based charity Stormbreak, which encourages better mental health, resilience and wellbeing for children.

Evolve founder Warren Munson said: “The messaging from Martin and Liz around being agile and persistent really resonated with all of us.

"Overall, I felt the key takeaway was that each of us needs to find our own rhythm and do things our own way. I love what Liz said about ‘learning to love what everyone else hates.’ Sometimes in business that’s how you can carve a niche and set yourself out from the crowd.”

The event was sponsored by professional services firm Azets, with the Daily Echo as media partner.