A Column By Len Johnson

Len Johnson wrote for The Melbourne Age as an athletics writer for over 20 years, covering five Olympics, 10 world championships and five Commonwealth Games.

He has been the long-time lead columnist on RT and is one of the world’s most respected athletic writers.

He is also a former national class distance runner (2.19.32 marathon) and trained with Chris Wardlaw and Robert de Castella among other running legends. He is the author of The Landy Era.

The long and winding road the leads to . . . nowhere A Column By Len Johnson Monday, 23 November, was Labour and Thanksgiving Day in Japan. The annual public holiday for commemorating labour and production and giving thanks was also the day on which the Chiba International Ekiden Relay would...
Is it just me, or is the pace of indoor record breaking picking up. Jakob Ingebrigtsen took almost half-a-second off the men’s world indoor record in Lievin, France on Thursday night, reducing it to 3:30.60, a time which is still extremely handy outdoors. But we’re not talking world records here,...
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. Elevate your running game with Tarkine Trail Devil, where every step is a testament to exceptional performance...
It’s often forgotten how slowly and grudgingly full recognition was given to the fact that women could actually run. Women weren’t allowed to compete in Olympic track and field until 1928, when the 100 metres and the 800 were the only two running events. The 800 was dropped after confected hysteria over some of the competitors finishing in a ‘distressed state’, a criterion which somehow never applied in the men’s event.
On 4 January, 1981, I ran to the summit of Mt Bogong. Having got to the top once, it took almost 38 years to the day to do it again, this time walking, on 30 December, 2018. Back to Mt Bogong, certainly; but certainly not back-to-back Mt Bogongs. The drive from...
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.
There have been exciting advances on the Australian indoor all-time list in recent weeks. A number of athletes – including Stewart McSweyn, Morgan McDonald, Ollie Hoare and Jessica Hull – have produced performances putting them among the top Australians ever. McDonald ran 7:42.76 for 3000 metres at New York’s famous...
Written by Len Johnson - Runner's Tribe Usually, we go to a world championships knowing what to expect. We may not get all, much or any of what we expected, but we go with a clear vision. Doha 2019 is not like that. It doesn’t fit the norm. We don’t even...
https://youtu.be/ctWRhaUxzzY Class act rewarded | A Column By Len Johnson Cathy Freeman unzipped her body suit and sat down on the track. Sally Pearson let out a scream once her narrow victory had been confirmed. Nathan Deakes dissolved into tears of joy. Rob de Castella, so injury-proof he was nicknamed ‘The Tree’,...
A column by Len Johnson Asked to name Kenya’s first Olympic medallist, most track and field fans would probably nominate Kip Keino. Good choice, too: Keino was one of Ron Clarke’s great rivals in the 1960s, the pair improving the world 5000 metres record five times (4-1 in Clarke’s favour)between...
                   

Brilliantly

SAFE!

2022