Len Johnson Reporting from the World Champs, London – Runner’s Tribe
Note to future event organisers: when you’ve got a program which is fairly light on finals, make sure you finish off with a real barnburner.
London 2017 did just that on Monday. The night had just four finals, but it finished...
Len Johnson Reporting from the World Champs, London – Runner’s Tribe
The British are proud of their ability to deliver an ‘event’. London 2012 was the best Olympics ever. The pageantry of the Changing of the Guard. And so forth, and so on - and on, and on.
To a large extent,...
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...
That sinking feeling - Len Johnson Reporting from London - Runner's Tribe
Pink Floyd famously imagined an elephant flying over Battersea Power Station.
I fancied I saw a kitchen sink on the first night of the world championships, flying over Queen Elizabeth Park. They threw everything but the kitchen sink at...
A Column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
Joseph Heller’s incomparable anti-war novel, Catch-22, is populated by a collection of bizarre characters, from the squadron commander, Major Major, to minor minor players.
Take Dunbar, who decided to live as long as possible by making time pass as slowly as possible. Dunbar...
A Column by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
Cross-country: something for everybody. Just step outside and run.
Invented by cave-dwellers fleeing mastodons, cross-country simply involves running as fast as you can – faster than a pre-historic predator, in any case – for as long as you can, over whatever terrain confronts...
By Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
As the clock ticks remorselessly down towards midnight on 23 July, the qualification deadline for the world championships, there are still many athletes chasing the magical entry standards.
Not just scrubbers either. Circumstances, and the narrower qualifying window (1 October, 2016, for most events), can...
A Column By Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
Athletics is a broad church – unlike the Liberal Party, which only thinks it is.
As Exhibit A, consider the Lausanne Diamond League meeting. Not only did we have athletes of all shapes and sizes competing in all disciplines from Olympic shot put...
Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
Whichever marathon host first had the idea of boosting entries by offering shorter distance options certainly did Australian races a great service.
Take this year’s Gold Coast marathon. Four of Australia’s world championship marathoners are running. But Jess Trengove, Milly Clark, Jeff Hunt and Josh Harris...
Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe
The Gold Coast marathon is approaching veteran status. Who would have thought?
Not only that, but the event is looking pretty good as it closes in on its 40th staging and 40th birthday. The first Gold Coast marathon was in 1979, so the fortieth race will...
