Jye Edwards knows better than anyone what a gruelling event 1500 metres is. The middle distance run is long enough that your body starts to hurt and stays that way, but short enough that you never really get the respite of easing off the pace.

It takes a particular kind of person with a very particular mental fortitude to not only stay in that discomfort, but to excel at the highest levels.

The Australian middle distance athlete competed at the Tokyo Olympic Games, finishing seventh in his heat and learning what it took to compete at that level during the “Covid Olympics”.

Edwards and the other 1500m runners are expected to be competing in Europe soon, hoping to qualify for Paris 2024.

Jye sits down with former Australian water polo player and Olympian Rowie Webster to chat about the philosophy of running with the pack, the physical toll middle distance running takes on the body, his secrets to performing under pressure and how much of it comes down to breaking in the right shoes.