Ben Green: 2:37:36 in Sydney - a personal best, hard-earned.

Every runner remembers the race where it all comes together - not because it was easy, but because it wasn’t.

For Adelaide-based runner Ben Green, that race came in Sydney this year. After months of steady training and early starts, he crossed the line in 2:37:36 - a seven-minute personal best, earned through quiet consistency and a lot of trust in the process.

When we sat down with Ben, this is what he had to say about his experience in Sydney:

The adrenaline at the start was hard to hold in, the first few km you are running along the Harbour Bridge, the sun’s rising and you are hoping the race is going to go in your favour. It was a steady calm running for the first half of the race, getting into a good group, being smart on the up hills through the city and then letting loose on the down hills. I was through halfway in 1:19:11 and knew I was in a good spot to go sub 2:40. From 21.1k to around 30km it’s flat running where you can lock into a pace, this is where I was feeling great and knew I could push at some point later. Entering centennial park at around 35k I made the decision to start pushing, knowing once I left the park it would only be a few kms until Macquaries Chair and then the final descent to the Opera house. The crowd support on the final few kms was unforgettable, it made all pain in my quads disappear. The second half surge paid off and I ended up negative splitting by just under 2 minutes. A perfect day, no low points simply a runners high for 2 hours and 37 minutes. A cherry on top of what was a long and consistent marathon block.

Ben trains with the Adelaide Harriers, one of Australia’s oldest and most community-driven running clubs. His staple session is 8 x 1km on the 4:30, where he averages around 3:12 per rep - sharp but controlled. His favourites, though, are the longer, rhythm-based efforts: 7 x 5 minutes on, 2 minutes float - sessions that build both strength and calm.

During a peak marathon block, Ben runs 110–120 kilometres a week, balancing structure and rest, routine and recovery. Away from training, he shares life with his fiancée and their cat, who both see the quieter side of marathon preparation - the early alarms, the Sunday naps, the slow dinners after long runs.