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 this year’s Lake Biwa marathon, published this year on Runners Tribe. Both Earl and Spence broke through into 2:14 territory, in the race.
Earl’s race report begins with a reference to “standing behind the pacemakers on the start line next to the Big Moose (Julian Spence).” Thirty or more kilometres later, it’s “Moose bulldozering his way through the field . . . flying.”
If it’s not stretching the zoological comparisons to breaking point, it seems to me that Julian Spence is way more ‘fox’ than ‘moose’ (though his 2:14:42 would be some sort of world record for what Wikipedia tells us is “the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family”).
With fox-like cunning, Spence has found the event which suits him and woven the training for that event into his lifestyle. In doing so, he has transformed himself from a footballer running to keep fit to an Australian world championships representative. Not only that, but he is likely to have an additional role in Doha, as he coaches Ellie Pashley, who has qualified for selection in the 10,000 metres...RUNNER’S TRIBE PAYS OUR WRITERS & FILM MAKERS TO CREATE EXCITING & ENTERTAINING CONTENT. HELP SUPPORT THESE PROFESSIONALS AND JOIN RT PREMIUM NOW. TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE (word count: 2636) PLEASE SIGN-UP TO RUNNER'S TRIBE'S MEMBERS ONLY PREMIUM CONTENT. WE HAVE SOURCED THE WORLD'S TOP WRITERS AND FILM MAKERS TO DELIVER ANY ATHLETE, COACH, PARENT OR FAN THE ULTIMATE PORTAL FOR ATHLETICS EDUCATION, ENJOYMENT AND INSPIRATION.
