The best part of a tough race or the return from injury? Sweet, sweet redemption. Coming back stronger to go further or faster. For Shai, it's about fun as he prepares for the half marathon at the Nike Melbourne Marathon. Shai Patel is a physio providing support for homelessness and rough sleepers; and providing run retraining for runners. He also leads a Melbourne trail group, No Signal, who run to raise funds for We Are Mobilise.

Shai, how's the vibe on shoot today?

It's really fun. Maybe too much fun, the hard part is staying focused.

Who do you usually run with?

I run with Ate Miles a lot. It's really nice having friends that run all around Melbourne because then you get to go to different places, get out on trails and see new things.

How long have you been running for?

Since I was really young. I started sprinting at a high level from when I was about 10 or 11 and did that through ‘til I was 18. Then eventually swapped to distance.

So you're pretty comfortable, like a pro, out here then?

[Laughs] Yeah, the ultimate amateur.

What motivated you to take on the half marathon this year?

The last half I ran was at Melbourne Marathon a few years ago. Three weeks after, I broke my leg pretty severely. I've been doing rehab for two years so coming back to Melbourne to run the half again is pretty meaningful. It's something I wasn't sure if I'd get back to. A redemption run.

Sweet, sweet redemption. Generally speaking, why do you run?

It's changed a lot over the years. When I started running distance, I'd just moved to Mildura and I needed to meet new people. The run community there is super community based, from teenagers to 60, 70 year olds. It was a great way to integrate myself into a new place. I fell in love with the people and places I was running, and slowly I fell in love with the action of running itself. Cathy Freeman once talked about running as 'feeling like cutting through the air'. You don't get that every day but when you do, it's the feeling people can't see.

Is the feeling the best part about running?

No, the people. Definitely.

And the worst?

The heartbreak.

Oh, we're going there now. Do you have a goal for this half marathon?

Not a time goal. I just want to finish it and have fun. Unexpected fun. I have a better relationship with the pain cave than I was expecting to. Getting to the other side, it's never as bad as you think it's going to be. You get through it and you surprise yourself that you've done it, which I think is pretty true of most people that run.

How will you tackle it on race day?

The question or reminder for myself is, "can I be comfortable sitting in this?" and just ride it out. The pavement owes you nothing but you owe it to yourself. Running is fickle, nothing's a given so if you can trust yourself, you often find you'll finish because you have everything you need.

Will the ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 3s help get you over that finish line?

It’ll make it more fun, that’s for sure. It’s a fun shoe. Nike has always been the giant in running. Around the world, you see Nike in every race. When you put on a race day shoe, you feel like an athlete and that’s pretty special. Even though I competed when I was younger, I wasn’t in the position to have racing spikes. Putting these on gives me a sense of “I believe it”. I believe that I’m a runner. I’ve earn't these.

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