By Steve Moneghetti
People who know me know I don’t believe in perfection but that you prepare meticulously, be on the start line in the best shape possible and then execute your race plan as well as you can. After that the result will be often determined by many other factors, but you finish knowing that you have done everything you could.
A column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
When I boarded a plane bound for Alice Springs a couple of weeks ago, the following things held true: no-one had run a marathon in under two hours; Paula Radcliffe’s world record marathon remained almost a full two minutes outside the reach...
Paula Radcliffe’s world marathon record was considered by many as one of the hardest world records of them all. The Briton’s mark of 2hr 15min 25sec had stood unchallenged for 16 years. In steps Kosgei, and boom, that once insurmountable time has been slashed by 81 seconds .
Kosgei is also the fastest woman ever over the half marathon distance with her 64:28 at the Great North Run, although the race is not an official course and the time is therefore not classed as a world record.
Back to the marathon. Wearing Nike’s ZoomX Vaporfly Next% running shoes the 25-year-old Kosgei bounced her way to 2hr 14min 4sec – a time that was once considered impossible.
Astoundingly, Kosgei believes that she could can go quicker. “I think 2:10 is possible for a lady. I am focused on reducing my time again.”
Perth Track and Field Club was established in 2016 and is home some of Australia's finest athletes. Film-maker Tom Giles of Crank’d Media covered their process to create the next episode of RT’s Workout Any Day series.
Learn more here: https://www.perthtrackandfield.com/
It took a little longer to convince the world, but no-one who saw Robert de Castella’s debut marathon had any doubt this was a champion in the making.
For 32 kilometres, de Castella – ‘Deek’, as we knew him – followed his coach Pat Clohessy’s advice to “relax and enjoy yourself.”
At that point, ‘Deek’ realised he had plenty left. From that point, each succeeding mile was quicker than the previous one. The 22-year-old debutant came home with a sub-30 minute final 10km for a winning time of two hours 14 minutes 44 seconds.
Clayton’s marathon career brought wins in some of the world’s most prestigious marathons but no Olympic or Commonwealth medals. Despite the absence of precious metals, however, this was no ordinary career.
Of his 22 marathons, Clayton won 14. Included in those wins was Fukuoka in 1967, one of the occasions on which Derek Clayton very definitely smashed the marathon. He ran the classic distance on this classic course in 2:09:36.4, becoming the first man to break 2:12, 2:11 and 2:10, all in the one race.
Less than 18 months later, Clayton ran even faster – 2:08:33.6 in Antwerp. This performance stood as a world best until Rob de Castella ran 2:08:18 at Fukuoka more than 12 years later.
Runner’s Tribe, in the book Australian Marathon Stars, interviewed Clayton and detail. Below are some nuggets of gold.
I mean, let’s be serious for a second. If the sport really thought what he was doing was wrong, why didn’t they change the goddamn rules?
But here’s the rub. The sport’s entire existence is predicated on a set of norms. Those norms must be enforced. So he was found guilty of minor infractions and given a punishment for “conduct unbecoming a coach.”
Put another way, they didn’t ban him for his infractions, they banned him to set an example that some norms are not to be challenged.
I’m fine with this. Salazar was violating the central norms that make track and field a viable sport. He knew this full well. He also knew people would come after him and he knew one step over the line could be the end. He did it anyway. Salazar got what he should have known was coming to him.
Where Are the Medals?
Written by Mark Tucker - Runner's Tribe
In the 51 years since the Mexico Olympics in 1968, Australia has won a total of four medals, from the 800m upwards, in a World Athletics Championship or Olympic Games. That’s male and female combined competing in all of the...
Now for members only - Milly Clark is one of Australia's fastest woman ever over the marathon distance. RT caught up with Milly in 2016 to cover her process.
Music by The Passion Hifi. Note: Used with permission
1:59:40.2 in the INEOS 1:59 Challenge.
Eliud Kipchoge broke one of the greatest barriers in sport history in a thrilling performance in Vienna when 34-year-old Kenyan became the first to run the classic marathon distance in under two hours. To the jubilation of the spectators this exceptional athlete ran 1:59:40.2...
