A column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
Funny race the marathon.
Last Sunday in London, the British capital’s warmest (I would say hottest, but London doesn’t really do heat) London marathon day ever, Mary Keitany covered the 42.195 kilometres from Greenwich to the finish near Buckingham Palace entirely on her...
A column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
Australia’s most famous open-water yacht contest is the annual Sydney to Hobart race.
Most years in these modern times, line honours are taken out by a sleek Maxi (length greater than 21m) boat crammed full of the latest technology. The fastest of these...
A column by Len Johnson reporting from the Gold Coast
Championship marathons seem to attract more than their fair share of brutal weather.
Put on any championship, pick any day for the marathons and it’s a better than even-money bet that the day will dawn warm and sunny. Indeed, that it...
Don’t bring a knife to a gun-fight
By Len Johnson reporting from the Gold Coast
In the movie The Untouchables, the Sean Connery character offers the memorable line to one of his victims: “Never bring a knife to a gun-fight.”
It took a while for Kenya to cotton on to this logic,...
Cheptegei doubles, Kipruto orchestrates sweep
By Len Johnson reporting from the Gold Coast
It’s getting harder to write new things about Joshua Cheptegei.
When he won the 5000 metres at the Commonwealth Games last Sunday, it was easy to dwell on the development of the young man who had crashed and burned...
Dreams fulfilled on field
A column by Len Johnson - Reporting from the Gold Coast
It might be stretching things too far to call Carrara Stadium a field of dreams – the so-far-hapless Gold Coast Suns might object, for a start.
But it has been on the field that Australian dreams have...
By Len Johnson reporting from the Gold Coast
Standing on the runway for her last throw of the Commonwealth Games javelin competition at Carrara Stadium on Wednesday night, Kathryn Mitchell dissolved into tears.
These were tears of joy, however, not those born of the frustration at having to wait so long...
By Len Johnson reporting from the Gold Coast
You will find Nick Hough and Alex Hulley side by side in the Australian Commonwealth Games Media Guide, but hands up anyone who expected to find them, if not exactly next to each other, one after the other on the medals’ podium.
Stranger...
By Len Johnson – Runner’s Tribe – Reporting from the Gold Coast
Back in the early days of Australian television, there was a cartoon character named Tom Terrific.
“I’m Tom Terrific, greatest hero ever,” the theme song went.
Tom Walsh is the modern day Tom Terrific. A 22.45 metres Games’ record on...
By Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe - Reporting from the Gold Coast
The wild weather which washed out the walking events at the Australian 50km championships in Melbourne at the start of December last year turned out to be a perfect storm for Jemima Montag.
The then 19-year-old Montag was down...
