There they all were – 10,000 metres champion and defending 5000 metres champion Gudaf Tsegay, the woman who runs every event, and medals in most, Sifan Hassan, Kenyan teammates Beatrice Chebet, this year’s world cross-country champion, and Margaret Kipkemboi – lined up to thwart Faith Kipyegon’s hopes of completing an unprecedented 1500 and 5000 metres double.
If I’m recalling my year 12 physics correctly – which may be a risky proposition – two equal waves meeting as they cross a pond will cancel each other out at one point and perfectly reinforce each other at some other point. Choose the pinnacle of running excellence –...
This thought came to mind after watching Genevieve Gregson run 2:23:08 in last Sunday’s Valencia marathon. Just as she has so many times now throughout her career, Gregson produced on the big occasion. When it mattered. If you wanted someone to run for your life, Genevieve Gregson would be a pretty good choice.
Someone recently had the temerity to suggest that this column lives too often in the past.
We could respond that there’s a lot more history in the past than there is in the present. And who knows the future anyway? But fair comment we replied and since then have tried to avoid the past as much as possible.
Well, there you are, history does repeat after all. After the drama of day three, the final playing out of day four was not quite as dramatic, even if it did follow a similar pattern.
A column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
Most years a runners’ panel is part of Falls Creek Running Week. It was again this year, featuring rising middle-distance star Georgia Griffith, Olympic and world championship distance representative Dave McNeill and London 2017 marathoner Brad Milosevic.
Chris Wardlaw was the MC. Inevitably,...
'Ravelo' - one of two of a kind
A Column By Len Johnson Published 15-10-2016
Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa, who died on 27 September, was one of only two of a kind. He was the first man to win the Stawell Gift off scratch, a feat that has been emulated since by Josh...
It’s been a mixed week for records. First, on the Friday night before the Pre Classic – the pre-Pre Classic? – Francine Niyonsaba won the women’s two-mile event in 8:59.08, missing the world record by just half-a-second.
As we ‘progress’ ever further into this strange time of lockdown, increasingly the past is becoming our new future.
Denied competition to get enthusiastic about we dig ever deeper into nostalgia. And the good thing about nostalgia is that – despite its not being as good as it used to...
Written by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
It’s high time we re-evaluated the worth of a relay gold medal, or rather, its relative value versus an individual gold medal.
One of the talking points during and after the world championships was that, in winning gold medals in two relays, the mixed...
