Len Johnson Reporting from the World Champs, London – Runner’s Tribe
Usain Bolt finished his last individual championship race with a touch of class, warmly embracing the winner, Justin Gatlin, and clapping him heartily on the back.
It’s a pity spectators in the London Olympic stadium didn’t show the same amount of...
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,...
The Dubai marathon has been going 20 years now. It’s about time I made up my mind about it.
For most of those years, Dubai has produced outstanding times. The 2019 edition certainly did – Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya’s 2:17:08 was the third-fastest marathon ever by a woman. In second...
JULIAN SPENCE: Written by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe Members Only
You’re not far into a conversation with Julian Spence when he observes: “I’m a bit of a running nerd.” One aspect of this is an eclectic library of running literature, of which more later.
Next, consider Nick Earl’s account of...
Sugar-coating the pill. Bait and switch. Little white lies.
Life is full of euphemisms for the art of getting us to buy – most often, it is ‘buy’ – a less tasty commodity by implying we are actually being offered something far more palatable.
History is a dry subject; statistics even...
There comes a time when you think you have seen everything, read everything and heard everything about the marathon.
As is usually the case when you fall into such a line of thinking, it turns out that time is never. The thing I never thought I’d hear about the marathon...
A column by Len Johnson
The observer was not impressed by the men’s 1500 metres final, describing it as “the most ridiculously tactical championship ever run.”
Which championship? Which final? An honourable fail if you plumped for the most recent Olympic final in Rio five years ago when Matt Centrowitz won...
During 2021 post-Tokyo, the phone rang when we were in Darwin, at dinner with friends with whom we had just completed a five-day hike on the West Arnhem Land escarpment. John Landy was eager to talk about Peter Bol and the Olympic 800 metres final.
At this time, John was...
Prior to the World Cross Country Championship in Bathurst, RT will unveil a comprehensive, 10-part series, composed by Len Johnson, that delves into the historical narrative of Australia’s participation in World XC.
Part 10 of 10 – Written by Len Johnson
With Bathurst ‘23 rapidly closing in, it is time to...
A Column By Len Johnson
When David McNeill ran 27:45.01 in the Payton Jordan meeting in Stanford this May, his performance had a certain Dickensian element.
To cite the opening line from A Tale of Two Cities , it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The...
