#27 Joji Mori - “My legs did all of the work, but it wouldn’t have occurred without Neil’s guidance”

All of these episodes I’m doing, I guess, are personal. They represent my interest in running. This interest has been fostered through conversations with friends, other runners, athletes, coaches, and non-runners. I’m trying to pick up on threads of conversation and take them further; speak to a specialist or speak to someone who may have something specific to say about her or his own running career. 

This episode is with a dear friend of mine: Joji Mori. After getting to know him and joining the club where he was based, he effectively became my coach, even though a guy called Neil Ryan, who is mentioned in this conversation, was the official coach. Joji and I lived close to each other so it was very easy for us to go on runs together. We did a lot of slow runs along the Yarra River from Richmond to Kew, Studley Park and beyond. We came up with the term ‘slowji’; which is a run, which is done at a very slow pace, generally in between tempo sessions. It is a combination of his name ‘Joji’ and the word ‘slow’. With the club, we would do Bush Reps: a series of 1km reps in a bushy, naturey park, just by the river. On Sundays, we’d drive out to Ferny Creek or to Lysterfield. Joji would sometimes drive in a straight line, while he balanced a coffee, a donut, or his phone and Spotify play list while driving. 

With him as my coach, he brought my times down across all of my distances; from 5km to marathon. But almost needless to say, that is barely part of the story. While running with Joji, he taught me much of the local Melbourne lore of running; sharing stories about other runners and what to do and not to do. One of the things he first drilled into me was to not be obsessed by the marathon distance. Joji, of course, has his own take on how to train and prepare for races. He nutted out a time of 2:26 in the 2013 Melbourne Marathon, in the pre-Super Shoe era. Even though he has his preferred methods, I have also realised that he is not particularly dogmatic in his approach to running. Joji always emphasises to me though, the importance is consistency, sticking to a plan, and following what works for you as an athlete and how it relates to one’s family life. 

I have decided to break this episode into two parts, since the original conversation went for more than one and a half hours and honestly I didn’t feel like deleting much of it. So, the second part will be published on Thursday. 

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has been listening and also those who have smashed one of the rating stars on the Spotify. 

Also, included at the bottom of the show notes, is a link to the fundraising page I have started for the KWF, which is the Koningin Wilhelmina Fonds voor de Nederlandse Kankerbestrijding, which is the primary Dutch body which conducts research to combat cancer. If you would like to donate, I thank you very much. 

Relevant Links: 

 

Richmond Harriers

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https://acties.kwf.nl/fundraisers/andyfuller/eindhoven-2024  

Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press

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Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com