We sat down with Adelaide runner Harry Bagley and spoke all things running, here’s what he had to say;   

 

1. What are your current PB’s?

3000m - 8:20

5000m - 14:29

10000m - 30:12

Half Marathon - 67:21

 

2. What’s your favourite distance?

 

My favourites distances are the 10km road and half marathon events.

 

3. Do you have any pre-race routines?

 

As far as pre-race routines go, I don't do anything out of the ordinary. I try to eat well the day before, and pretty bland "safe" food on the day of a race. Warm up is always the same - a 20 minute jog followed by some drills and strides, roughly 45 minutes before start time.

 

4. What got you into running?

 

I was a club swimmer through my junior years and only started running as a form of cross training during my off season. However, to my surprise, I ended up falling in love with running and made the decision to train and focus solely on it when I started university in 2018.

 

5. Have you had any injury setbacks?

 

I think all runners have had injury setbacks in some shape or form. I’m always slightly niggly but carefully monitor my training load and intensity to keep my body in check. In saying that I have had a challenging last 12 months suffering from two bone stress injuries. I've had to take a decent amount of time off to recover, and i've even found myself back in the pool for the first time in 6 years for cross training. Despite this, I believe these injuries have helped me learn a lot more about my body and I hope that this will help me be a better athlete. I've used this time to reflect on my training and even taken the opportunity to get away for some opportunistic international travel. 

 

6. What has been your best running experience?

 

My greatest running experience to date has been representing Australia at the World University Games in China over the half marathon distance. Unfortunately I sustained my first bone stress injury in the lead up to this event and had to take some time off to speed up the recovery. The stress fracture didn't heal in time so after a hard discussion with my coach I made the difficult decision to go ahead and race, leading to a less than ideal race result. Despite this, the experience of representing my country was absolutely surreal. Another highlight was being able to live in an athlete village and make some great friendships with athletes from a range of disciplines all over the world.

 

7. What’s been your favourite race so far and why?

 

My favourite race was Melbourne Half Marathon in  2022 where I ran my qualifying time for the World University Games. I felt extremely confident in my preparation for this race and had a great block of training with high volume and large sessions. I tapered well and it was one of those situations where everything fell to plan on the day. It was a great feeling crossing the line knowing I had achieved a big goal of mine.

 

8. What moment have you been proudest of in your running career?

 

My proudest moment was when I was selected for my first Australian team in 2022 - the World University Cross Country Championships in Portugal. It was an honour to represent my country and race against world class athletes.

 

9. Favourite session and why?

 

My favourite session is without a doubt any sort of fartlek type sessions with float recoveries. I especially enjoy these when I’m feeling fit, being able to run a fast and smooth float and rip into some faster reps. These sessions always give me a good indication of my fitness level, which fills me with confidence and helps me plan my racing calendar.