In 1998, a young runner from New South Wales lay shattered on the Olympic Park track in Melbourne. His name was Martin Dent, and moments earlier he had come to a grinding halt, his panic-stricken face awash with realisation. It was the Australian junior steeplechase final, and while leading the race, he had forgotten to hurdle the all-important water jump. His race was over, and there was nothing he could do. It was his fault, and he knew it. Rising slightly from the track, he began to pummel his fist into the ground, his frustration released in a brief, yet unforgettable tirade. It was this fierce passion that would one day take him to the Olympic Games, and make him one of the toughest runners in Australian history.
RT EXCLUSIVE: Jordan Gusman
Why Malta?
Written by Jaryd Clifford (c) Runner's Tribe
The rumours are true: Australian 5000m champion Jordan Gusman is no longer eligible to represent Australia. A few days ago, he received notice of his successful transfer to Malta, relinquishing his automatic qualifying spot on the Australian team...
Written by Jaryd Clifford - (c) Runner's Tribe
Everyone knows David Rudisha, but only some people know James Turner. This is a loss for the Australian running community. Let me tell you why.
At the 2016 Paralympic Games, twenty-year-old James Turner dominated the T36 800m, a race for athletes with cerebral...
Written by Jaryd Clifford - Runner's Tribe
Six seconds in the marathon is nothing, but for Liam Adams, it was everything. For a fleeting moment after crossing the finish line of the Gold Coast Marathon, frustration erupted. “Fuck. That was weak as piss. You stuffed that up,” he yelled. Stumbling...
As Michael Roeger’s body ground to a halt along the Embankment in London earlier this year, the crowd hushed, their breaths held in unison as they bore witness to the dramatic cruelty of the marathon. Mercilessly, it seemed, the historic distance was only moments away from claiming yet another...
James Hansen, the sixty-ninth Australian to run a mile in under four-minutes, waited in the wings. He covered every move, stalking the leaders with flawless precision. It is easy to spot him amidst the fray, built for the brawl, his arms swinging like a barrage of punches. Hansen, now aged twenty-five, has run in six Australian 1500m finals, never medalling. This race, the 2018 Commonwealth Games trials, would be the most agonising. For a fleeting moment, with only fifty metres left to run, he hit the front. Besieged by the nation’s best milers, he dared to dream of winning. It was not to be. In the final strides, it all unravelled, swamped on the line in an unforgivable falter. For the second time in his career, he would finish fourth, only five one-hundredths-of-a-second shy of the medal he so desperately wanted to win.
The Leonora Golden Gift kicked off on Thursday in spectacular fashion. Under the guidance of professional running coach Raf Baugh, a record number of local school kids – aged five to eighteen – took part in an athletics clinic preparing them for the weekend’s races. The day proved to...
The Leonora Golden Gift is famous for attracting the best of the best. Every year the small mining town plays host to the most talented runners in the country as they fight for the coveted road mile title and a piece of the $50,000 prize purse. This year is...
Kiara Reddingius is the hometown hero of the Leonora Golden Gift. Six times she has run down the main street to win the 120m race. Despite battling an injury that sidelined her from the recent Australian titles, this year she is aiming to taste victory once more.
However, after moving...
Written by Jaryd Clifford
Harry Summers hit rock bottom in December 2017. Under the influence of alcohol, he chose to get behind the wheel of his car. It was a decision that nearly cost him his life when a few minutes later he crashed into a light pole. When police...