Sam catches up with Harm Schaap and Jessica Burke 🎙️

Jess has made the move from Sydney to Wollongong (and picked up a fiancé along the way 💍). After getting her start at Pace Athletic surrounded by names like Ben St Lawrence, Katie St Lawrence and Sam Hopper, she’s built into a serious runner — 10:28 (3k), 18:10 (5k), 38:09 (10k). Fresh off Ballarat Marathon, Jess ran 41 minutes in tough conditions, soaking up the rare chance to race in front of family.

Harm’s been quietly stacking a huge year — 14:43 for 5k at NSW Championships and a win in the Mile at Beaton Park. Training is rolling at 130–140km weeks with a simple but savage structure: track Tuesdays, tempo Thursdays, race pace Saturdays.

Sam’s deep in the Shellharbour Marathon build — 92km week, gym ticking over, and a monster session: 14k easy → 6k / 6k / 7k @ ~4:07/km off float jogs All adding up to a 1:27 half in training 👀

☕️ Café Kit of the Week – Raycon Essential Earphones – Suunto Watch - Asics Superblast 3

📣 News & Shoutouts • Run Shellharbour – TFTV20 (May 17) • Wollongong Running Festival – SAMH20 (June 7) • Ballarat Marathon wrap — from elites to the local legends • Jaylah Hancock-Cameron breaks the Aussie road mile record (4:26) • London Marathon chaos — Sebastian Sawe (1:59:30) & Yomif Kejelcha (1:59:41) rewrite what’s possible

Big episode — local stories, big performances, and a few signs that the marathon world is moving very, very fast right now.